Girl’s drowning at California reservoir now a homicide investigation, sheriff says

The tragic drowning of a 3-year-old girl at a California reservoir has become a homicide investigation, the Tuolumne County Sheriff confirmed.

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“That is an active investigation right now,” Sheriff David Vasquez said at a Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors meeting last week. “We are treating it as a homicide.”

On July 18, deputies received a call for help at Don Pedro Reservoir, a popular recreation spot in the Sierra foothills south of Sonora. The initial call was for a missing girl at Fleming Meadows Lagoon, deputies said. As they headed to the scene, more 911 calls came in about a girl who was found unresponsive in the water. Deputies on a boat patrol arrived first and took over CPR from bystanders. The girl could not be revived, and she was declared deceased at the scene. The department has not identified the girl or her family, but said she was from Modesto. 

A GoFundMe for the family, which has since been taken down, said the girl was on a family camping trip.“What was meant to be a joyful family camping trip became an unimaginable nightmare that no parent, sibling, or grandparent should ever have to endure,” the page read.

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Vasquez said deputies are still gathering witness statements, but they are treating the case as a homicide “until we know otherwise.” 

“It really shook the pillars of this entire community,” Vasquez said.

The department released a photo of the lagoon around the time of the girl’s death which shows a blue raft amid crowds of people in the water. They believe the girl was on that raft before she died, and they are asking anyone with information to call 209-694-2904. Vasquez said more information will be released to the public “when the time is appropriate.”