Police believe the body found in California’s American River on Monday, May 29, 18 days after a local teen was filmed being swept away in it belongs to Raymond Cabalfin Jr.
Cabalfin Jr, 19, was seen leaping into the American River with a female friend after they and friends hiked the Lake Clementine Trail near Auburn, 30 miles outside Sacramento, California. While the female friend was able to climb out, Cabalfin was seen shouting for help as he was quickly pulled away by the river’s current.
Police recovered a body from the American River on Monday, May 29, that they believe could belong to Cabalfin Jr. The body was recovered Monday 3 miles downstream from where Cabalfin was last seen.
via Sacramento Bee:
A runner near the Robie Point hiking area called around 3 p.m. Monday to report something unusual floating in the river near a Placer County Water Agency pump station. A California Highway Patrol helicopter was able to confirm the object was a body. California State Parks rangers and El Dorado County deputies used an inflatable boat to reach the location and pull the body from the river.
“The body that was recovered today was consistent with a body that had been submerged in the water for some time. It was obvious that this body did not enter the water in the last 24 hours,” said Scott Liske, the supervising ranger for the Auburn State Recreation Area.
The body was recovered Monday 3 miles downstream from where Cabalfin was last seen. Liske said Cabalfin’s family has been notified that a body has been recovered, but it’s up to the coroner to make the positive identification due to the body’s condition. There was no obvious other trauma to the body, Liske said.
The body has not yet been identified by the coroner’s office as Cabalfin’s.
A GoFundMe page created by Cabalfin’s family to pay for private searches has raised $5,500 of it’s $15K goal.
via Go Fund Me:
On May 11, 2017 Ray went hiking with some friends along Lake Clementine Trail in Auburn. At mid-afternoon, to cool off, Ray jumped from a rock into the American River approximately three quarters of a mile upstream from Clarks swimming hole. The current was too strong for him to swim back to shore and he was carried away from his friends. He was seen for a few yards attempting to swim against the current, and calling for help to his friends. They acted quickly, calling 911 and trying to get further down the river so they could intercept him, however they lost sight of him soon after he called out for help. The California State Parks Ranger’s Dept. as well as Fire & Rescue responded immediately and within the hour they had a helicopter equipped with a FLIR thermal imaging system searching the area. They worked all evening with divers, kayakers, and other resources, but unfortunately they were unable to locate him. The Placer County Sheriff’s Department, as well as, the California Highway Patrol is also working in conjunction with the California State Park Rangers, providing resources to find Ray. We are extremely grateful for all of the effort of the departments that have contributed to the search for Raymond; however, these searches are incredibly costly for these departments and they have limits as well as time frames in which they are mandated to stop the search for Ray. Those limits have already began approaching fast. We MUST continue the search for Ray with our own financial backing for things such as search parties, as well as, ANY resources which may contribute to locating our much loved family member and friend. These necessities are very expensive and we would more than appreciate any support from our friends, family members, and anyone that would like to contribute to this GoFundMe page to help reach our goal to continue searching until Ray is found. Thank you all in advance for the love and support to bring him home. Even the smallest donation helps imensely to add up to our total goal!
