28-year-old Devin Brewer of San Jose had been missing for two weeks, and his body was found by another hiker Sunday in a popular but deadly swimming hole in the Stanislaus National Forest.
A San Jose man had not been seen since May 14, when he jumped into a swimming hole known as “God’s Bath,” and never surfaced again. The Sierra Nevada news source Mother Lode reported that the search for 28-year-old Devin Brewer was suspended four days later, with Tuolumne County Sheriff’s spokesperson Jacob Ostoich telling the site, “Given the fast-moving current and the rocky conditions, there is a possibility he could be stuck under a rock. If that’s the case, [the search is] just too dangerous because of the conditions.”
That search is now over, and the news isn't good. The Bay Area News Group reports that another hiker found Brewer’s dead body not far from that swimming hole this past Sunday afternoon.
The news group adds that “Brewer was a graduate of the University of Virginia, where he had been on the track team, competing in hurdles and 400-meter relay. His LinkedIn page said he was working in information technology for the aerospace and defense company General Dynamics.”
In a chilling footnote, two other Bay Area outdoors enthusiasts also died at the same swimming hole — exactly one year to the day before Brewer jumped in and never surfaced. “Exactly a year before Brewer’s disappearance — May 14, 2021 — two other Bay Area men drowned in God’s Bath,” according to the Bay Area News Group. “They were identified as Benedict Rozario, 20, of Pittsburg, and Rinoel Villena, 25, of Daly City.”
Even more eerily, just the day before Brewer’s disappearance was reported, the Tuolumne County Fire department posted an Instagram message saying, “we want to remind you that rivers are inherently dangerous places to recreate. The water can be high, swift and cold as mountain snowpack melts, making staying in control and hypothermia real risks. Logs and rocks, both visible and hidden, pose navigation hazards.”
Along with the message, they posted the American Red Cross’ tip for Swimming Safely in Lakes, Rivers & Streams.
Related: Remains of Missing Berkeley Runner Philip Kreycik Likely Found In Pleasanton [SFist]
Screenshot: MrJaredbenge via Youtube
