TULARE COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) — A Central Coast family is mourning the loss of a 17-year-old girl who drowned over the weekend near Three Rivers by Sequoia National Park, marking the ninth drowning death in Tulare County this year.
Loved ones remember Andrea Diaz Mondragon as a kind and caring teenager who was preparing to enter her senior year of high school and aspired to become a nurse.
Efrain Salazar is a friend of Andrea’s family.
“She loved her family, especially her parents and her older brothers. Everyone who met her loved her, and she always made a great impression on people,” Salazar said.
What was meant to be a first-time visit to Sequoia National Park quickly turned tragic.
Andrea’s brother and another friend immediately jumped into the water to save her, but the strong current overwhelmed them.
“I believe the current was too strong in the river. So ultimately, all three of them were drowning at one point. We were able to get one of our friends out, and her older brother was able to get out of the water by himself,” Salazar said.
Despite efforts by those at the scene to reach her, Andrea was unable to escape the water.
“We tied clothing together, trying to create a rope just to try to reach her,” Salazar said.
“It’s devastating, heartbreaking,” he said.
As temperatures rise across Central California, the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office is urging caution around rivers and waterways, warning that conditions can be more dangerous than they appear.
“It doesn’t look like it’s moving very fast. But in reality, it’s moving very fast. In reality, there are bushes, limbs and logs under the water,” said Ashley Ritchie with the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office.
Andrea’s loved ones are now sharing a message they say she would have wanted others to hear.
A GoFundMe has been set up to support Andrea’s family. Click here if you would like to donate.
