News Release

Body of Memorial Day Weekend Drowning Located in Sequoia National Park

Date: July 29, 2025
Contact: Sintia Kawasaki-Yee

SEQUOIA AND KINGS CANYON NATIONAL PARKS, Calif. – The Tulare County Sheriff’s Office (TCSO) Swiftwater Dive Rescue Team (SDRT), in coordination with the National Park Service (NPS), located the body of 26-year-old Jomarie Calasanz of La Puente, California on July 24. Tulare County Coroner’s Office confirmed her identity on July 28. She had been missing since May 25. 
 
On May 25 Jomarie was swept into the river while recreating with friends and family in Sequoia National Park. On June 5, the search transitioned to limited continuous, largely due to unsafe river conditions and technical terrain. Since then, NPS and TCSO continued to proactively search using various methods including drones, dive teams, swift water teams, ground searching, and K9. 
 
“I am extremely grateful for the coordination, support, and determination by the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office and our NPS team, in the continued search for Jomarie,” Superintendent Clay Jordan said. “I hope this brings some level of closure to the family.”  
Throughout July, NPS personnel and the Sheriff’s Swiftwater Dive Rescue Team conducted multiple searches on the Kaweah River using a certified water K9 team from the California Office of Emergency Services, the Sheriff aircraft and underwater camera and sonar technologies. Members of TCSO SDRT were able to identify a point of high interest on the river less than a mile below where Jomarie was last seen.  
A thorough search was conducted in early July but due to still dangerous high-water flows, TCSO personnel were unable to locate her. Water flow calculations were continually monitored, and it was determined July 24 would be the first and best opportunity to safely locate Jomarie.  
The National Park Service, Sheriff Boudreaux, and the men and women of the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office offer our deepest condolences to Jomarie's family. We would like to remind the public that rivers remain dangerous even with lower flow rates later in the season. Please stay away from swift water, be sure to wear a life jacket, and keep children close along the river’s edge.