Man fishing with friends dies trying to get phone dropped in canal, US cops say

He dove into the canal after dropping a cellphone and ‘became submerged underwater for an extended period’, the sheriff’s department said. — Unsplash

A man fishing with friends died after diving into a canal to retrieve a dropped cellphone, California authorities said.

The man was fishing with two friends on a canal in North Shore in Riverside County on Tuesday, Jan 24, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said in a news release.

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He dove into the canal after dropping a cellphone and “became submerged underwater for an extended period”, the sheriff’s department said.

When the man did not resurface, his friends called 911, according to the sheriff’s department.

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Deputies said they arrived and searched the area where the man dove into the water but could not find him “due to low daylight.”

A dive team from the sheriff’s department recovered the man’s body the following day, the sheriff’s department said.

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Authorities won’t publicly identify the man until they notify his family, deputies said.

“As a reminder, fishing in the canal is dangerous and prohibited by law anywhere in the Coachella Valley,” the sheriff’s department said, while adding that those who want to go fishing should find “an authorised fishing location.”

North Shore is about 145 miles northeast of San Diego. – The Charlotte Observer/Tribune News Service