A 26-year-old La Puente woman was confirmed to be deceased and her body was recovered by authorities in Sequoia National Park last week.
According to a news release from Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, crews with the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office Swiftwater Dive Rescue Team (TCSO SDRT) and the National Park Service recovered the body of Jomarie Calasanz on July 24. Her identity was confirmed by the local coroner’s office four days later.
Calasanz went missing on May 25 when she was swept into the Kaweah River while at Sequoia National Park with friends and family. The L.A. Times reported she was trying to save her sister.
A search was immediately launched; however, it was scaled back by June 5 “largely due to unsafe river conditions and technical terrain,” officials explained.
After that date, crews used multiple methods – drones, dive teams, swift water rescue teams, ground searches and K9 teams – and continued looking for Calasanz for nearly two months.
“Throughout July, NPS personnel and the Sheriff’s Swiftwater Dive Rescue Team conducted multiple searches on the Kaweah River using a certified water K9 team from the California Office of Emergency Services, the Sheriff aircraft and underwater camera and sonar technologies,” the parks service said in the media release. “Members of TCSO SDRT were able to identify a point of high interest on the river less than a mile below where Jomarie was last seen.”
Dangerously high water flows prevented TCSO from finding Calasanz in early July, but as the month progressed and the water receded, it was determined that July 24 would be “the first and best opportunity” to safely locate her, officials said.
“I am extremely grateful for the coordination, support, and determination by the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office and our NPS team, in the continued search for Jomarie,” Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks Superintendent Clay Jordan said. “I hope this brings some level of closure to the family.”
A Facebook post from a relative of Calasanz appeared to express that the finding did in fact bring closure to loved ones.
“Jomarie is finally found! Praise God for an amazing outcome to such a terrible tragedy,” the post reads. “We thank Him and His Goodness and though our hearts remain heavy with sorrow, we are deeply grateful to share that Jomarie has been found, and after 65 days, we can now bring her home to rest.”
A GoFundMe set up to help the family with costs associated with laying Calasanz to rest can be found here.
The post L.A. County woman confirmed dead after monthslong search of California national park appeared first on KTLA.
