Divers Recover Drowning Victim at County Park

A person was found dead at Cottonwood Lake in San Jose's Hellyer County Park on Sunday after park rangers reported someone in distress in the water, according to the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office. The call came in at about 1:40 p.m., and rescue crews from the sheriff's office and the San Jose Fire Department went to the lake. Sheriff's officials said the agency's Dive Team and Underwater Search Unit then searched the water. A body was recovered during that search, and the person was pronounced dead at 4:11 p.m., according to the sheriff's office. The death was described by the sheriff's office as a possible drowning. Authorities said the person's identity had not been confirmed as of the initial public statements, and investigators had not said why the individual entered the lake. The Office of the Medical Examiner-Coroner will determine the cause and manner of death, the sheriff's office said. ### Where did the incident happen? Cottonwood Lake is inside Hellyer County Park in San Jose, according to the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office and local media reports. The sheriff's office said the incident unfolded at the lake on Sunday afternoon. San Jose television outlets NBC Bay Area and ABC7 reported the same location and said the response centered on Cottonwood Lake after park rangers received the distress report. Patch also reported that dive teams from the sheriff's office, the San Jose Fire Department and park rangers assisted in the recovery. ### Who responded after the distress call? Santa Clara County Park rangers were the first officials identified in public accounts of the incident. The sheriff's office said rangers were alerted to a person in distress in the water and called for help. The Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office said its Dive Team and Underwater Search Unit were deployed to search the lake. The sheriff's office describes the Underwater Search Unit as the county's primary underwater search and recovery team, which is called by police departments and government agencies needing underwater services. (nbcbayarea.com) San Jose Fire Department crews also responded, according to the sheriff's office and local news reports. ### What do authorities know about the victim? The sheriff's office said only that a body was found during the search and that the person died at the scene. ABC7 reported the victim was a man, citing the sheriff's office, while other early reports referred more broadly to a person or victim. The name had not been released publicly because identity had not been confirmed. (nbcbayarea.com) KRON4 and other local outlets reported that authorities had not explained why the person was in the lake. The sheriff's office said in statements carried by local media that the circumstances of how the person entered the water remained unclear. ### What remains unresolved in the investigation? The Santa Clara County Office of the Medical Examiner-Coroner will determine the victim's identity and the cause and manner of death, according to the sheriff's office. (abc7news.com) That means the central unanswered questions — who the person was and whether the death will be ruled accidental or otherwise — remain with the coroner's investigation. Local reports published through May 23 did not identify the victim or report a final determination from the coroner. (kron4.com) The sheriff's office has not publicly released additional details in the accounts reviewed. ### Where can readers look for updates? Patch, NBC Bay Area, ABC7 and the San Francisco Chronicle's SFGATE affiliate all published updates based on sheriff's office information in the days after the incident. Those reports repeated that the investigation was ongoing and that identification of the victim was pending. The next public update is likely to come from the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office or the Office of the Medical Examiner-Coroner once identification is confirmed and the death investigation advances. (nbcbayarea.com) (sfgate.com)