Divers with the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office pulled the body of a drowning victim from Lake Nacimiento Sunday afternoon.
The victim, identified as Armando Loa Ramos, 44, fell into the lake at Sandy Point around 1 p.m.
His friends said could not swim and was not wearing a life jacket.
Divers with the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office spent over an hour searching for Ramos.
“The terrain underwater in this area is very steep and the visibility is almost zero in this area,” Monterey County Park Ranger Supervisor Jon Anthony said. “So once the divers get under about 5 feet of water, they’re just feeling. They can’t see anything with their eyes.”
The victim was finally recovered around 2:15 p.m.
“It wears on us a lot physically because of the heat and stressors,” Anthony said. “Emotionally, they never get easier for any of us. We all have families and think about could be one of us or our family members and treat everyone that way.”
The family and friends of the victim said they were visiting from the King City area.
A friend of Ramos said he didn’t know how to swim and ended up in too deep of water.
The friend attempted to save Ramos but nearly drowned himself in the process, he said.
Anthony said this is a painful reminder of why everyone should wear life jackets while in the water.
“Especially in lakes and open water, whether you are a strong swimmer or not, wear a life jacket,” Anthony said.
“Things happen fast and sometimes you don’t get a second chance.”
The area remains open to those camping and recreating.
