Drowning victim’s body found in Lake Natoma

State park workers recovered the body Tuesday morning of a 23-year-old man who drowned last week at Lake Natoma after jumping into the water with friends, officials said.

The man was identified as Paul Liu of Sacramento, according to the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office.

The workers recovered the body at 9 a.m. between the launch ramp and swim beach at Negro Bar, said Richard Preston, superintendent for the Folsom Lake State Recreation Area.

On Thursday, California State Parks workers received a report at about 4 p.m. that four people had jumped from rocks intending to swim to a partially submerged rock in the middle of the lake, between Rainbow Bridge and Lake Natoma Crossing, Preston said. Liu went underwater, and his friends unsuccessfully tried to rescue him.

Two of Liu’s friends were rescued by kayakers, and one made it to shore on his own.

Hours after park workers recovered Liu’s body, rescue crews pulled another body out of the American River downstream near Sutter’s Landing in midtown Sacramento.

That man appeared to be in his 20s or 30s, said Sacramento Fire Department spokesman Chris Harvey. He said identifying the man will be difficult because the body had been in the water for several days.

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