A young man’s body was recovered from a deep pool at the Falls Day Use Area in Santa Barbara’s back country on Sunday, August 3. The Sheriff/Coroner’s Office released his identity on Monday: 19-year-old Roberto Perez Juarez of Oxnard. Detectives’ investigation determined his death was due to an accidental drowning.
A couple of 9-1-1 calls came in that afternoon, reported County Fire’s Karen Cruz-Orduña, sending city and county fire crews and a water rescue team to the popular site along the Santa Ynez River. The teen was found in more than 10 feet of water in a dark, murky stretch about midway between the first water crossing and the Red Rock Trailhead. He had apparently been submerged for more than an hour, she said.
Cruz-Orduña said that standard water safety practices included avoiding the water if not an experienced swimmer, avoiding drugs and alcohol before swimming, and avoiding diving headfirst into unknown waters…