Fresno Co Sheriffs Office Identifies 6 Year Old Drowning Victim

The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office has identified a 6-year-old boy who drowned in the San Joaquin river last night. He is six-year-old Freddy Lopez of Fresno. The boy was with his family at Skaggs Bridge Park just north of Kerman. Emergency crews are urging parents be cautious when swimming in our valley waterways.

"We’re just deeply saddened by this and our hearts go out to his family, the Hidalgo community wants to support the family the best we can", says Hidalgo Elementary Principal Reynaldo Villalobos.

A local principal in mourning after the death of a child. The family of little freddy lopez headed to the water to cool off. But a day of fun quickly turned into one of tragedy.

"We had heard that in the 7 o’clock hour, maybe 7:30 is when the parents tried looking for Freddy and they couldn’t find him", says Fresno County Sheriffs Office Public Information Officer Tony Botti.

Search crews found Freddy at about 9:00pm, the cause of death, drowning. They say the water can be deceptively dangerous.

"There are still a lot of hazards in very slow moving water and that can become dangerous", says Captain Ryan Michaels with Cal Fire.

Botti says, "once you’re walking off the shore it can seem very level, but even a quick drop off can happen and whether you’re an adult or a child it can be difficult to keep a float".

The principal of Hidalgo Elementary School remembering Freddy as loving and a hard worker.

"He was a kindergarten student and he was a genuine caring student, he loved being at school, working hard in the classroom he always tried his best", says Villalobos.

Today families are out at the same river where just hours ago, crews were searching for freddy.

"We actually stick together, we have the floats for the little kids so they don’t drown or anything", says swimmer Kevin Valencia.

Andrew Garcia, his wife and four children came out to the river and heard what happened. Garcia says, "the person that ran in and pulled the child out, he was here and was telling me and I was shocked"

He says they always try to keep an eye on their kids.

"There’s no words that can describe a parent loosing their child", says Garcia.