Gilroy – Sheriff’s divers pulled the body of a San Jose man from
Coyote Reservoir Monday evening, nearly four hours after the man
disappeared, leaving his clothing and shoes stranded on the
shore.
Gilroy – Sheriff’s divers pulled the body of a San Jose man from Coyote Reservoir Monday evening, nearly four hours after the man disappeared, leaving his clothing and shoes stranded on the shore.
Two fishermen reported the man missing to park rangers at about 1:30pm Monday. The three had planned to go fishing, and strolled down the shoreline, seeking a good spot to cast their lines. About a mile and a half north of the ranger’s station, they found one: a spot sheriff’s deputies called Angler’s Cove.
“He said, ‘It’s too hot today. I have to go swim,'” one fisherman reported, still frantic even after the body was found. He declined to give his name. “We told him, ‘It’s not allowed for swimming.’ But he went.”
The two men returned to their SUV to retrieve their fishing poles, leaving the third to swim. When they returned, he was gone.
“It scared me to death,” the fisherman said, shaking his head under a floppy, dark-blue hat. “I almost got heart attack. I don’t know how to talk. I don’t know this guy so well, so I think maybe he was joking. I called his name.”
But no one called back. The second fisherman jumped into the water and paddled in a panic, looking for the missing man. The swimmer was a friend-of-a-friend, a younger man the two men say they didn’t know well. When the two visited a friend’s house before fishing, the third man was sitting outside, and asked to join their fishing trip, the fisherman said.
“I say, ‘Of course.’ I cannot say no,” the fisherman explained. “We are Vietnamese.”
The victim’s name was not released by press time, pending family notification. Sheriff’s deputies described the victim as a Vietnamese-American man from San Jose in his mid-30s. When his body was found, he wore only his underwear.
As of press time, coroners had yet to determine the cause of death, or whether any specific factors caused the man to drown. There was no alcohol on scene, and no apparent foul play, sheriff’s spokesman Edward Wise said. One fisherman carried a legitimate fishing license.
“It doesn’t appear suspicious at this point,” Wise said.
By 3pm, rescuers reported they had switched into recovery mode, though park ranger supervisor Ken Silveira cautioned that the search was still in progress.
“We’ll go through everything,” said Silveira. “You always hope for the best.”
Silveira couldn’t remember the last time anyone had disappeared into Coyote Reservoir.
Rangers and deputies patrolled the shoreline as sheriff’s divers plumbed the water Monday afternoon, dividing the lake into a searchable grid. Park staff closed Coyote Reservoir to additional visitors, to allow room for bulky emergency equipment on the park’s narrow roads. As fire engines and sheriff’s cruisers sped through the tranquil park, hikers and fishermen already inside were puzzled.
“I’ve been wondering what’s going on,” said David Spetch, as he pulled his inflatable boat to shore Monday afternoon. Spetch had been fishing since 8am, and was bewildered when helicopters began circling the lake in mid-afternoon. “Besides that, it’s been pretty quiet.”
Swimming is banned in Coyote Reservoir by the Santa Clara Valley Water District, not due to any hazards, but because the reservoir’s water is ultimately used for drinking, said Silveira. Monday, the weather was clear, and winds were light.
