Second Rancho Mirage victim drowns in just 5 days
RANCHO MIRAGE — For the second time in five days a person has died from drowning in the desert community of Rancho Mirage. This afternoon’s drowning happened just two and a half miles from the other drowning, which involved a 34-year-old Rancho Mirage woman.
SEE RELATED: UPDATED: Rancho Mirage woman, 34, ID’d after drowning in backyard pool
Emergency first responders were dispatched to a private residence on the 10 block of Ridgeline Way in Rancho Mirage at 1:45 p.m., after receiving reports of a drowning at the home.
When officials arrived at the scene they found an adult who had drowned. Despite lifesaving efforts, the victim perished at the scene, Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire spokesperson Tawny Cabral explained after the death.
Although officials did not specify of the victim drowned in a backyard pool, the small cul-de-sac has 12 homes, all but one of which features a back or side yard pool.
Last Monday’s fatal incident happened on the 100 block of Waterford Circle, within the exclusive Waterford gated community. The victim was later identified as Michelle Slater. According to an earlier coroner’s release, officials are still working to determine Slater’s time and date of injury as well as her time of death.
Sheriff’s deputies assigned to the Palm Desert Sheriff’s Station are investigating the cause of both victims’ drownings and their investigation is ongoing.
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Trevor Montgomery, 46, recently moved to Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for several other news organizations, including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, The Valley Chronicle and Anza Valley Outlook, as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and The Mountain Echo in Shasta County.
Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)
During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations, including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center and Lake Elsinore Station, along with other locations.
Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.
Trevor has been married for more than 27 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and has 13 children and 14 – soon to be 15 – grandchildren.