Child, Man Die in Separate Drownings Along Russian River, Sonoma Officials Say

Two people, including a child, died Sunday in separate drowning incidents along the Russian River, according to the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office.

Shortly before 3 p.m., sheriff’s deputies were called to Monte Rio Beach, where bystanders reported seeing two juveniles struggling in the water. According to the sheriff’s department, one child was rescued, but the other could not be located immediately.

After a 20-minute search, deputies located the child and attempted CPR. The child was pronounced dead at the scene.

Less than two hours later, at 3:49 p.m., an adult man was reported unresponsive in the water about 10 miles upstream in Forestville, near Rio Vista and Martinelli roads. Rescue personnel from the sheriff’s office and local fire department performed CPR, but the man was pronounced dead at the scene.

The man reportedly drowned after falling off a paddleboard.

“The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office extends its deepest condolences to the families and friends of the deceased,” Sgt. Juan Valencia, the department’s spokesperson, said in a statement late Sunday.

The deaths come almost exactly a year after two people drowned in the Russian River over the Fourth of July holiday in 2024, during record-breaking heat. One of those deaths occurred just downstream from Monte Rio Beach, and a drowning the previous July occurred around the same point.

Both incidents are under investigation. The second, involving the paddle board, will be investigated by the sheriff’s office marine unit as a vessel-related accident.

The identities of the victims have not been released. The sheriff’s office said both appear to have been visiting from outside of Sonoma County.