The body of the last person missing from a boat that capsized on Lake Tahoe in California during a sudden and powerful weekend thunderstorm was discovered Monday, bringing the total death toll to eight.
Ten people were on board the 27-foot (8-meter) gold Chris-Craft boat when it flipped Saturday afternoon near D.L. Bliss State Park on the lake’s southwest edge as the storm whipped up high waves, according to US Coast Guard officials.
Two people were immediately rescued and transported to a hospital in unknown conditions. Six bodies were recovered later Saturday, and a seventh was discovered Sunday evening, according to the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office.
Divers searched a section of Lake Tahoe and discovered the last body Monday afternoon.
Sgt. Kyle Parker said the victims’ names would not be released until family members were notified.
Drowning and other accidental deaths have occurred on the lake in recent years, but boating accidents resulting in multiple fatalities are uncommon.
The South Lake Tahoe Police Department told KCRA-TV in 2022 that there are an average of six deaths on the lake each summer, with a record 15 deaths in 2021. The department could not immediately provide updated figures.
Even forecasters were surprised by the intensity of the thunderstorm, which lashed the southern part of the lake around 3 p.m., said meteorologist Matthew Chyba of the National Weather Service office in Reno, Nevada. Winds reached 35 mph (56 kph), and waves grew to more than 8 feet (2.5 meters).
“We weren’t expecting it to be so strong,” Chyba explained.
He said temperatures in the area were significantly lower than normal for this time of year, which could have contributed to the unstable air mass.
Eight-foot waves at Tahoe are “pretty significant,” according to Chyba. “They were really rocking the lake.”
Lake Tahoe is a popular summer recreation spot for boaters, kayakers, and paddleboarders. The pristine lake with extremely cold water spans California and Nevada and is one of the deepest in the country, second only to Oregon’s Crater Lake.
Officials have not revealed any information about the group on the capsized boat, or whether it was rented or owned.
Saturday’s storm passed in about two hours.
Brittany Glick was on a rented pontoon boat with seven others on Saturday, celebrating a friend’s bachelorette party, when the wind picked up and the waves grew larger.
The day began sunny, but then the temperature dropped and there was almost no visibility, Glick said Monday.
“It felt like we were in the midst of an impending tsunami. “I’ve never had an experience like that,” she said.
As the boat approached the dock after about an hour of navigating increasingly choppy waters and soaking the passengers, it began to hail.
“We were shaken up seeing all the boats flipped,” Glick told me. “And being drenched in that water made us extremely cold. We shook uncontrollably. Our feet went numb, and our toes turned blue. That was probably one of the most terrifying experiences I’ve had in my 30 years. The storm moved in so quickly. “It was terrifying.”
KCRA-TV obtained video of moored boats colliding at a nearby marina due to strong winds.
