A woman whose body was pulled from the Santa Ana River in Orange County on New Year’s Day has been identified as 39-year-old Alejandra Ramirez Torres, coroner’s officials said. Her body had been carried by the river’s current from Santa Ana to Fountain Valley before it could be retrieved by fire crews.
Ramirez Torres was the mother of two daughters, ages 11 and 16, according to a GoFundMe created by her relatives.
Orange County fire officials said crews responded to 911 calls before noon on Thursday, after bystanders reported seeing a body in the river near Warner Avenue and Harbor Boulevard.
Some 60 firefighters responded to the scene, including swift-water rescue teams. They found Ramirez Torres’ body south of the river’s juncture with the 405 Freeway, north of the Gisler Avenue river trail in Costa Mesa, about 1.5 miles from where witnesses first saw the woman.
A ladder truck was used to lower a rescuer to the water and retrieve Ramirez Torrez, who was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said.
“This sudden and heartbreaking loss has deeply affected our family. We are doing everything we can to support Alejandra’s girls as they face an uncertain future without their mother,” states the GoFundMe page, which relatives said was set up to cover the costs of Ramirez Torres’ funeral and provide support for her daughters.
The woman was a possible transient at the time of her death, Orange County Sheriff’s Department spokesperson Sgt. Lizbeth Gwisdalla confirmed Friday to the Daily Pilot.
How and why she entered the river was not known.
Cardine is a staff writer for The Times’ sister publication the Daily Pilot.
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