2 juveniles dead after falling into river near Shasta Dam, sheriff says
SHASTA COUNTY – Two juveniles have died after falling into the river near the Shasta Dam on Thursday morning, authorities say.
The Shasta County Sheriff's Office says, around 9 a.m., they and other agencies responded to the campground area near the Shasta Dam after getting reports that two juveniles had fallen into the river.
The two got caught in rocks and debris that had broken away from a hillside near a drainage culvert leading to the river. First responders found the two juveniles dead Thursday afternoon in the fallen debris in the water, the sheriff's office says.
Recovery efforts were made by the Shasta County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue Teams and a dive team.
No other details about the juveniles, including their exact ages, have been released.
The tragedy occurred just before a major dirt bike race in the area. The Coram Ranch Campground in the area has hosted dirt bike races for decades. This next one was set to be one of the biggest in recent memory as a qualifier for the most prestigious dirt bike race in the world, Enduro.
Organizers and law enforcement say the race will still go on, but not without a heavy heart.
"This weekend event that was scheduled, that a lot of people have been concerned about, will go on as planned," said
The Shasta Dam creates Shasta Lake, California's largest water reservoir. It's located about 11 miles north of Redding and 170 miles from Sacramento.