Teen drowns at Millerton Lake

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A 19-year-old man drowned at Millerton Lake Saturday evening, the Fresno County Sheriff's Office said.

Larry Gabaldon was one of the first to jump into Millerton Lake the teen who went missing while in the water.

"We were hearing a guy saying 'help, help, he's drowning, help,'" Gabaldon said. "I couldn't find him, I tried a second time, and I got tired because it was so deep."

Shortly after he got out, Gabaldon says Cal Fire's dive team arrived. It was a sight Eleana Alta-Mirano says she'll never forget.

"All we could was stand by and pray," she said. "When you're in the middle of something like this just pray."

And seemingly that's what people did as the sun began to fade and the helicopter circled the lake, but 45 minutes into the search, the victim was found.

Park rangers say he was located just 10 feet from the shoreline, not far from the island witnesses say he swam too.

"Visitors at the park say he was struggling, there was a struggle and he asked for help and his friend was unable to give him help at the time," ranger Mark DeLeon explained.

When he was brought up, park rangers attempted to resuscitate the man with CPR until turning him over to paramedics who rushed him to Saint Agnes Medical Center in Fresno.

"All my prayers go to his family, it was sad," Gabaldon said. "It was sad."