Lake Tahoe boat accident death toll rises to 7
Seven people are now confirmed dead and one remains missing after a 27-foot powerboat capsized during a violent storm on Lake Tahoe Saturday afternoon, marking the region's deadliest boating accident in recent memory.
Authorities recovered the body of one of the missing individuals late Sunday, according to a Monday morning update from the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office.
Dive teams from El Dorado, Washoe, and San Joaquin County sheriff's departments continued searching Monday for the eighth and final missing passenger.
Two people survived and were hospitalized with hypothermia and other injuries.
The boat, a Chris-Craft Launch 27, sank around 3 p.m. near D.L. Bliss State Park on the lake's southwest shore. It was carrying 10 people when a fast-moving squall swept in, generating 8-foot waves and wind gusts over 35 mph. The vessel was quickly overwhelmed and sank in deep water.
'The identifications of the deceased from this terrible incident will not be released until proper notifications have been made,' the sheriff's office said.
'Suspending a search is always a difficult decision to make and weighs heavily on each Coast Guard member involved,' said Cmdr. David Herndon, search and rescue mission coordinator with Coast Guard Sector San Francisco. 'Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and loved ones of those involved in the boat capsize.'
Saturday's storm struck with little warning, catching even experienced boaters by surprise and triggering widespread damage across Lake Tahoe's marinas and shoreline.
Chris Williams, a party boat operator with Tahoe Sports, said his crews battled waves they had 'never seen on Lake Tahoe' while returning clients safely to shore. Two of the company's boats broke free from their moorings and washed ashore, though Williams said both are salvageable.
Elsewhere, vessels were left wrecked or sunken, particularly near Camp Richardson Marina, where at least two boats were submerged and several others washed up outside the Grove Beach Bar & Grill.
Lake Tahoe resident Chad Shelton told the Chronicle was surprised to hear that a Chris-Craft Launch 27 — a high-performance model not typically rented out — had gone down near Rooster Rock, a deep-water area with a steep drop-off.
Boaters across the lake recounted harrowing escapes. One family narrowly reached shore after abandoning attempts to dock, while a group of women celebrating a bachelorette party described the ordeal as 'terrifying.'
Longtime residents said the signs were there for those watching the skies, and warned that mountain weather can change rapidly.
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