Man believed drowned in Tahoe; body not found

Rescuers could not locate the body of a 24-year-old Roseville man who apparently drowned in 700 feet of water in Lake Tahoe Saturday afternoon after a four-hour search involving multiple law enforcement and rescue agencies.

Friends told police the man had been riding behind their boat on a towed water toy when he went under the water.

A 911 call was made, but the man had apparently drowned and disappeared below the surface of the lake before the U.S. Coast Guard arrived.

The incident occurred about a mile north of Ski Run Marina, according to the South Lake Tahoe Police Department.

The circumstances of the drowning and whether the man was wearing a life vest are still under investigation, said officer Schyler Beaty.

Witnesses initially told authorities the man was wearing a vest, said Mike Faivre, petty officer with the U.S. Coast Guard, who was on the scene.

There were no indications alcohol was involved, Beaty said.

The water temperature stood at 62 degrees Saturday, and the air temperature at 57 degrees. Rescue personnel called off the search after four hours, determining through "survivability models" that the man was likely not recoverable, Faivre said.

Dive teams were not able to search for the body where it disappeared because of the water's depth of 700 feet, Faivre said.

Also on the scene were South Lake Tahoe Fire Department, El Dorado and Placer County sheriff's departments and dive teams, H2O Vessel Assist and the CALSTAR 6 helicopter, which performed a grid search.

The identity of the man is being withheld until his next of kin are notified.