The body of an 18-year-old South Lake Tahoe woman was found in Lake Tahoe early Friday morning, authorities said.
A K-9 officer from the South Lake Tahoe Police Department discovered Deyana Loranca, a 2007 graduate of South Tahoe High School, in the lake sometime after 4 a.m., said police Lt. Marty Hale.
At 3:04 a.m., South Lake Tahoe police responded to a report of possible domestic violence at a residence in the area of Treehaven Drive and Fremont Avenue, Hale said.
A man allegedly was dragging a screaming woman back into a house in the area. When officers arrived at the scene, Loranca ran up to the police vehicle. As police tried to restrain an uncooperative man at the scene, the woman ran off, according to police.
A K-9 unit tracked Loranca to an area north of Fremont Avenue, where she was found floating face down about 60 feet from Lake Tahoe's shore. Attempts by police officers and South Lake Tahoe Fire Department emergency personnel to revive Loranca were unsuccessful, and she later was pronounced dead at Barton Memorial Hospital.
The investigation into Loranca's death is ongoing. Police believe the death was accidental but are treating it as suspicious pending autopsy results.
"The final determination will be made after the autopsy," Hale said.
The man, 18-year-old Jose Zavala of Carson City, was arrested on suspicion of transporting, possessing and being under the influence of a controlled substance. He was booked into the El Dorado County Jail on Friday.
Police decline to identify the controlled substance involved.
