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Second tragedy in a week occurs at popular waterfall site
By Miriam Raftery
June 17, 2023 (Julian) -- The U.S. Forest Service has closed the trail to Three Sisters Falls unitl further notice while first responders search for a missing man, 27, who was last seen swimming late yesterday. Helix Water District has shut off water from a dam feeding the falls to aid rescue efforts.
Deputies with the Julian Sheriff's Substation received a call for help on Friday, June 16 just before 5:00 p.m. “Two people were swimming at the middle level of the falls. One went underwater and did not resurface,” says Lieutenant William Amavisca.
Sheriff’s deputies,Cal Fire personnel , volunteers with the Sheriff's Search and Rescue (SAR) and the Sheriff’s ASTREA helicopter conducted a search operation around the waterfalls until sunset. The darkness and amount of water flowing into the waterfalls made it too dangerous to continue with the search.
Around 8 p.m., Helix Water District shut off a dam that feeds water to Three Sisters Falls to decrease the water flow just before 8:00 p.m. This morning at 8 a.m., the search resumed, with the Forest Service and the Sheriff’s Volunteer Dive unit also called in to aid the other rescuers.
A Sheriff's family liaison lieutenant, a Sheriff's Chaplain and representatives with Trauma Intervention Programs of San Diego (TIPS) are also available for the family of the missing man.
Three Sisters Falls has been the site of multiple deaths and injuries over the years. Just last week, a woman fell to her death after trying to save a teen girl who had slipped on a ledge above the middle falls. Both fell into the water; the girl sustained serious injuries and was hospitalized; the woman was pronounced dead at the scene, as ECM reported.
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