Search Continues For Man Lost In Stanislaus River
RIPON (CBS13) — Family and friends of a Lodi man who went missing after he was swimming in the Stanislaus River over the weekend say they are not giving up.
Search efforts are currently underway.
All Jose Acatitlan can think about is his young brother, Juan Carlos, 21, who went missing early Sunday evening as he and friends were swimming in the Stanislaus River.
"We ran to the riverbank as fast as we could to start looking for him. We yelled his name out, but he was nowhere to be found," he said.
Juan Carlos took one last picture before he went into the water. The family says it was taken near the bicycle bridge under Highway 99.
"I have been on the phone with my brothers and sisters. Letting them know what happened. We are all praying for him," said Acatitlan.
Ripon police and fire crews spent most of Sunday evening looking for the man with no luck. On Monday morning, officials deployed a drone to help find him.
"I'm already frustrated. I don't know what to think. I don't know where to look because we had walked already six miles down the river back and forth and we don't see him," said Elsa Ochoa, friend of Juan Carlos.
Juan Carlos is a father of a 3-year-old. Most of his family lives in Mexico. He's been working in the fields along with his brother.
"In the morning, they went walking, walking, miles to look around the river, hoping to find a signal that the body is floating or whatever, but they don't have any luck to find nothing," said Luis Magana, Centro De La Cultura Campesina.
Friends and co-workers have been searching for hours. They say they won't give up until the young man is found.
