Three hikers who died after jumping into a California waterfall have been identified
Two of the hikers, Matthew Schoenecker and Valentino Creus, were from Los Angeles, while the third, Matthew Anthony, was from New York
Schoenecker and Anthony jumped into the water to help Creus, who was apparently struggling in the water
The three men who died after jumping into the water at a California waterfall have been identified.
The three men died at Rattlesnake Falls after they jumped into the water and did not resurface on June 18, according to a series of statements shared on Facebook by the Placer County Sheriff’s Office.
The sheriff’s office shared the identities of the three victims with PEOPLE on Wednesday, June 25. They include one man from New York, 44-year-old Matthew Anthony, and two from Los Angeles, 50-year-old Matthew Schoenecker and 59-year-old Valentino Creus.
Schoenecker, a high school diving champion, “tried to help Valentino,” who was “in trouble” and “started panicking” in the water, said Juan Heredia, a diver who located the bodies, to the Los Angeles Times. Anthony also jumped in to try and save Creus, Heredia added. “But they couldn’t and they drowned.”
Matt Meeks, who said he was friends with Creus for 15 years, confirmed the account in a post shared on Monday, June 23, on Facebook. He said Creus “died as he lived” by “riding that river all the way to Heaven alongside his friends.”
Meeks remembered Creus, who was an accountant, as a spiritual man who spent his time “leading retreats, tutoring youth, mentoring men in their marriages and work, and leading small group meetings.”
“He’d always give advice,” Meeks wrote. “I didn’t realize it then but he was just as much my spiritual accountant as he was my financial one. Most importantly, Val was a true friend.”
Meeks also shared a statement from the members of the group that Creus, Schoenecker and Anthony were with the day of the incident.
According to Meeks, seven people started the day with a religious mass around 5:30 a.m. before setting off for a hike in Royal Gorge. One person turned around about a half hour into the hike after receiving a call about a “family matter.”
After about four hours, the group reached Rattlesnake Falls, which Schoenecker was familiar with. The group ate first before deciding to jump into the water.
Creus began to struggle after entering the water, so when Schoenecker and Anthony went after him, according to the statement. One member of the group stated, “he was surprised by the strength of the current,” noting that Schoenecker “told him he had never seen a current like this.”
After some time, the remaining members of the group “saw no sign of the three in the water.” They then activated the SOS feature on one of their phones, and a helicopter arrived a short time later.
The helicopter departed shortly after its initial arrival to retrieve a rescue team, according to the statement. It returned around 5:30 p.m., and all three individuals were then flown to a base.
Rescuers were unable to locate the men on June 18, and their search was hampered by adverse wind and water conditions the next day, the statement said.
Heredia located the men’s bodies on Saturday, June 21, according to a post on his Facebook page.
The diver told the Times that Anthony was found about 45 feet in the waterfall pool that leads into the North Fork American River, while Schoenecker and Creus were found under the waterfall at about 47 feet.
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“Our heartfelt condolences go out to their families, friends, and all those affected by this tragic loss,” the sheriff’s office said in its statement on Sunday, June 22.
