Police Warn Against Swimming in Niles Creek

Fremont police used the run-up to Memorial Day weekend to issue a public warning about Niles Creek, a waterway in the city’s Niles area that authorities say remains both dangerous and off-limits. A city bulletin published May 22 said swimming or gathering in the Niles Creek area is illegal and unsafe. The notice said officers would patrol the area through the holiday weekend and watch for trespassers. The warning came nearly two years after the Memorial Day drowning of 11-year-old Dana Nino Gonzalez in nearby Alameda Creek, north of Mission Boulevard. ### What exactly did Fremont police tell people not to do? The City of Fremont said on May 22 that “swimming or gathering in the Niles Creek area is both illegal and unsafe,” according to that week’s “Fremont Connection” bulletin. The notice told residents planning a Memorial Day picnic to avoid the creek altogether. The same bulletin said the Niles Creek area and surrounding lands are off limits. Fremont police said officers would be on patrol over the weekend and that anyone found in the creek area could face enforcement action. ### Is this just a safety warning, or is it also a trespassing issue? California Penal Code 602(O)(1) was cited in the city’s May 22 notice as the basis for possible arrest for trespassing in the creek area. The bulletin said people entering the creek or surrounding lands could be cited or arrested, and that illegally parked vehicles could also be cited or towed. NewsBreak’s summary of the warning, which matched the city bulletin, said Fremont police described entering or swimming in the Niles Creek area as both illegal and unsafe. That framing made the warning more than a general water-safety advisory; it also put visitors on notice about enforcement over the holiday weekend. ### Why are officers emphasizing the risk before Memorial Day? Memorial Day has already been tied to a fatal water incident in the same part of Fremont. On May 27, 2024, Fremont police officers responded just before 6 p.m. to Alameda Creek adjacent to Niles Canyon Road, north of Mission Boulevard, after a report of a drowning, CBS San Francisco reported, citing the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office. Officers arrived to find community members trying to pull a child from the water after she became stuck against a flow control structure. (content.govdelivery.com) The victim, Dana Nino Gonzalez, 11, died after being taken to a hospital, according to the sheriff’s office account reported by CBS. KTVU later reported that witnesses said several people tried to free her and that the creek’s underwater pull was stronger than it appeared from the surface. ### What do authorities and nearby residents say makes the water dangerous? (cbsnews.com) Sgt. Roberto Morales of the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office told KTVU in June 2024 that warning signs in the area are “posted for a reason” and that “there’s a lot of water dangers in the creek.” Fremont resident Suzanne Fuentez, who lives near the creek by Niles Canyon Road and Mission Boulevard, told the station the site had become a popular swimming spot and said, “It looks calm, but there are pulls” under the water. (cbsnews.com) KTVU reported that fencing and multiple warning signs were already posted near the creek after the 2024 drowning. The station also reported that cell phone video provided by the victim’s family showed strong suction at the point where the girl became trapped. ### Where did the city publish the warning? The warning appeared in the City of Fremont’s May 22, 2026 edition of “The Fremont Connection,” a city bulletin distributed through GovDelivery. (ktvu.com) Fremont police also maintain public updates through the department website and community channels, including a “Week in Review” page and official outreach accounts. The Fremont Police Department website listed May 25 as a city-observed holiday closure for the department lobby, while the creek warning said patrols would continue in the Niles Creek area over the weekend. That means the next immediate step for residents is the holiday enforcement period described in the May 22 city notice. (fremontpolice.gov) (content.govdelivery.com)