Bodies of SoCal men recovered after drowning at Eastman Lake near FRM

FALL RIVER MILLS — The bodies of two southern California men, missing since failing to return from a late night canoe trip Sunday evening, Nov. 25, were found within thirty minutes of each other by boaters and sheriff’s divers the next day. The victims were last seen alive around 10 p.m. Sunday night, when they left the Eastman Lake boat dock in a canoe.

The men have since been identified by coroner and sheriff officials as 32-year-old, Andrew Ryan Ginsburg, of Hawthorne; and 32-year-old, Lakewood resident, Jace Christopher Bodda. According to the victims’ various social media accounts, Ginsburg was a real estate broker and property manager, and Bodda had been studying to become a nurse.

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Authorities say the men’s family and friends reported the pair overdue when they failed to return to the Glenburn area after finishing their canoe adventure.

Eastman Lake, where the two victims launched their canoe from, is at the head of Little Tule River, 6 miles northwest of McArthur, and parts of the waterway run directly adjacent and to the west of Ahjumawi Lva Springs State Park. Several other popular lakes and waterways including Horr Pond, Big Lake, and Fall River Lake, are within the general area.

The many lakes and rivers throughout the area are popular with kayakers, canoers, stand-up paddle boarders, and other adventure enthusiasts as well as fishermen; and a variety of fish including catfish, bream/bluegill, rainbow trout, crappie, and large mouth bass can be found in abundance.

According to officials and other sources, two civilian boaters found the body of one of the men near a canoe Monday morning. Sheriff’s divers along with other search and rescue personnel found the other victim about 30 minutes later.

The men were located in about 5-10 feet of water, according to Shasta County Sheriff’s Office, and medical personnel declared both victims deceased at the scene.

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A Deputy Coroner Investigator was dispatched to the location where the men were discovered shortly before 1:30 p.m., and eventually took custody of the victims’ bodies; and both men’s families have been notified that the bodies of their loved ones have been recovered.

The incident remains under investigation by Shasta County Sheriff’s Office Boating Safety Unit and Shasta County Coroner’s Office, and postmortem examinations will be scheduled.

 

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Trevor Montgomery, 47, moved last year to the Intermountain area of 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 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 28 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 15 – but soon to be 16 – grandchildren.