Divers Recover Body at Cottonwood Lake

Santa Clara County sheriff’s divers recovered a body Sunday afternoon from Cottonwood Lake at Hellyer County Park in San Jose after park rangers reported a person in distress in the water. The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office said rangers were alerted at about 1:40 p.m. and called for emergency help. The San Jose Fire Department also responded, according to the sheriff’s office. Authorities said the person was pronounced dead at 4:11 p.m., and the identity had not been confirmed as of Monday. ### Where did the recovery happen? Cottonwood Lake is inside Hellyer County Park in south San Jose, where sheriff’s officials said the incident unfolded Sunday afternoon. NBC Bay Area reported the recovery took place at the lake after a search by the sheriff’s Dive Team and Underwater Search Unit. San Jose was identified in multiple local reports as the location of the emergency response, including CBS News Bay Area and the Mercury News. Those reports said the sheriff’s office handled the recovery and the investigation. ### What did responders say happened Sunday? The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office said park rangers first received word of “a person in distress in the water” at about 1:40 p.m. Sunday. The agency then called in its dive team and underwater search personnel to search the lake. The San Jose Fire Department also went to the scene, according to the sheriff’s office statement carried by NBC Bay Area. Authorities later said a body was found during the search and the person was declared dead at 4:11 p.m. KRON, citing the sheriff’s office, reported that authorities said it remained unclear why the individual entered the lake. That point had not been resolved in public statements released after the recovery. ### Has the victim been identified? The person’s identity had not been confirmed in statements released after the recovery. NBC Bay Area reported that the Santa Clara County Office of the Medical Examiner-Coroner would determine the cause and manner of death. ABC7, citing Bay City News and the sheriff’s office, reported the victim was a man. Other local outlets described the victim more generally as a person whose identity was still being withheld pending confirmation. The Mercury News reported Monday that the name of the deceased had not yet been confirmed. No age or hometown had been released in the initial accounts. ### What is still unknown in the case? Investigators had not publicly said how the person entered the water or what led to the distress call. The sheriff’s office said only that park rangers were alerted to the emergency and that a recovery operation followed. The cause and manner of death also remained undetermined pending review by the medical examiner-coroner. Local reports did not describe any witness account beyond the initial report of a person in distress. ### What happens next in the investigation? The Santa Clara County Office of the Medical Examiner-Coroner is expected to identify the deceased and determine the cause and manner of death. The sheriff’s office said additional details would depend on that process. Any further public update is likely to come from the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office or the county medical examiner-coroner after identification is confirmed and next of kin are notified.