Body Reported Floating in Santa Ana River Bottom

EASTVALE, CA- Riverside County fire crews were combing the shores of the Santa Ana River this afternoon in Eastvale, where a passer-by reported seeing a body floating in the rapidly flowing waters.

The witness called 911 about 4:30 p.m., saying that a motionless figure was seen in the river, just off Bluff Street and River Road, where storm waters have surged following downpours that began Tuesday morning, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.

More than two-dozen firefighters, including members of the agency’s swiftwater rescue team, were sent to the location, initiating a search that had turned up nothing as of 5:30 p.m.

A command post was established at Bluff and Stagecoach Road in Norco.

Corona fire crews were called out, as well, to watch for a possible victim in the Prado Flood Control Basin.

The years-long drought made the Santa Ana river bottom an attractive location for homeless encampments. Officials from the city of Riverside recently conducted a public outreach campaign in an attempt to convince itinerants to leave the area ahead of El Nino storms.

— By City News Service. Image via Shutterstock.