Possible Burglary Suspect​ Who Drowned In San Rafael Canal ID'd

SAN RAFAEL, CA – The Marin County Sheriff's Office has identified the possible burglary suspect who drowned Monday night in the San Rafael Canal. Albon Eckard Wagener, 48, of San Francisco, died after he attempted to evade police by jumping into the canal.

San Rafael police responded to a call about a possible burglary around 6:40 p.m. at a home in the 300 block of Point San Pedro Road. When the officers contacted a man in the driveway behind a security gate at the residence, the man ran to the canal at the rear of the residence and jumped in, according to the Marin County Sheriff's Office.

Officers threw flotation devices into the water and one officer swam toward the man, who sunk under the water, sheriff's officials said.

The San Rafael Fire Department and Southern Marin Fire Protection District's dive team found Wagener unresponsive and unconscious below the water around 7:45 p.m. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators from the sheriff's Coroner's Division conducted an external exam of Wagener and found items that were stolen from the residence, as well as drug paraphernalia, suspected illicit substances and burglary tools in his clothing, according to the sheriff's office.

The coroner's division will perform a post mortem exam and toxicology tests to determine the cause and manner of Wagener's death, sheriff's officials said. The case remains under investigation.

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Possible Burglary Suspect Drowns In San Rafael Canal

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