A New Yorker and two of his friends leapt to their deaths last week when they jumped into a waterfall during a hike on a remote, treacherous trail in northern California, according to authorities.
Matthew Anthony, 44, of New York City, and five other hikers set off into the woods Wednesday in Soda Springs, about three miles off Donner Pass, a 7,000-foot-high alpine trail in the northern Sierra Nevada.
After hiking rough terrain for three hours, Anthony and two of his friends, Valentino Creus, 50, and Matthew Schoenecker, 50, both from Los Angeles, decided to cool off by jumping into Rattlesnake Falls, the Placer County Sheriff’s Office said.
The men never came out of the water after they took the plunge.
The other three hikers in their group called 911 and rescue workers began a frantic search. After four days, divers recovered their bodies, police said.
“It is with heavy hearts that we share that the bodies of the three men have been recovered,” the sheriff said in a statement Sunday.
“Our heartfelt condolences go out to their families, friends, and all those affected by this tragic loss.”
The three victims volunteered for the International Circle of Genetic Studies, a program that connects professors of genetics and molecular biology to undergraduate and high school students to conduct studies and research in the field.
“We regret to inform you that three of our advisors passed away last Wednesday, June 18th, 2025 in an accident near San Francisco,” the organization wrote in a statement on Facebook. “Their names are Dr. Mathew Schoenecker, Dr. Mathew Anthony and Val Creus, M.S. REQUIESCAM IN PACEM!!!! We give our sympathy to their families.”
The Sheriff’s Office’s dive team, Search and Rescue Units, CAL Fire’s technical rescue team and California Highway Patrol’s helicopter all contributed to the search.
The three hikers who didn’t jump were taken off the trail by a helicopter while the search continued for their friends.
Rescue workers were initially confronted by powerful winds, poor visibility, debris and strong currents, limiting their search, according to the sheriff’s office.
On Sunday, conditions cleared up and the search resumed.
A local diver, Juan Heredia, was part of the team that found the bodies. He did four dives of almost 3 minutes each in deep, ice-cold water, he wrote in a social media post.
“We couldn’t wait. I knew it could take weeks to surface,” he wrote. “Families needed to close this chapter already.”
He got the signal to go into the water at 9 p.m., he said. A sergeant told him, “We’re going to send a team to walk right now to take care of the bodies.”
He described swimming against the waterfall as “brutal.”
“[It] was pushing me hard,” he wrote. “But I wouldn’t leave without those 3 souls.”
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