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View Winners → Monrovia Tragedy at Lake Havasu – Local Couple Drowns
Monrovia Weekly Jul 23, 2017
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– Courtesy photo / GoFundMe.
A Monrovia couple drowned Friday afternoon on Lake Havasu, according to a written report by officials with jurisdiction over the lake.
Esmeralda Gonzalez, 41, and her husband Raul Gonzalez, 44, were on a boat with another man and two children. The boat was floating in an area just west of Crazy Horse Cove.
Esmeralda jumped from the boat to go for a swim and was not wearing a life vest. She then began to panic in the water and Raul jumped in to rescue her. He also was not wearing a life vest, authorities said.
Both of them were seen struggling in the water before they went under and did not resurface. Two off-duty Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies were able to pull Esmeralda out of the water around 3:25 p.m.
She was brought to the Crazy Horse Docks, but was unconscious and not breathing. The deputies performed CPR on Esmeralda until paramedics arrived. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Raul was still missing at this point and authorities conducted an extensive search of the lake. His body was found an hour later around 3:45 p.m. at the bottom of the lake, authorities said. He was taken to the docks and pronounced dead.
The family has started a fundraising effort on GoFundMe:
“On July 21st, 2017 we lost two amazing people in a tragic accident. Raul and Esmeralda were a loving couple who had been married for two years and had a 6 month old daughter named Lulu. Raul was a loving father who was a leukemia survivor who dedicated the rest of his life to helping the children at the Children Hospital in Los Angeles. Raul was loved by everybody around him and in the community and was known to always be there for everybody and would put everybody’s needs before his own. Esmeralda was a loving wife and mother who devoted her life to her kids and her husband. She always put them first above anything and was a true blessing to Raul and her children. We are asking for help in this time of need to help pay for their services and arrangements. We appreciate anything you can help us with. Thank you and God bless.”
