The final missing person from a boat that overturned on Lake Tahoe in California amid an unexpected and strong weekend thunderstorm was found Monday, raising the fatality count to eight.
The 27-foot (8-meter) gold Chris-Craft boat carried ten individuals when it capsized Saturday afternoon close to D.L. Bliss State Park on the lake’s southwestern margin, as the storm generated towering waves, reported U.S. Coast Guard officials.
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Six people were killed, two people were hospitalized and two others remain missing after a boat capsized in Lake Tahoe on June 21, 2025. (U.S. Coast Guard) -
Authorities conduct searches along the shore at D.L. Bliss State Park after a weekend incident in which a boat capsized, killing several people, on Monday, June 23, 2025, in South Lake Tahoe, Calif. (AP Photo/Brooke Hess-Homeier)
Two individuals were rescued promptly and transported to a hospital, their conditions unknown. Six bodies were retrieved later on Saturday, with a seventh body discovered on Sunday evening, according to the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office. Divers scoured a portion of Lake Tahoe and located the final body Monday afternoon.
The names of the victims won’t be released until family members are notified, Sgt. Kyle Parker said.
Drowning and other accidental deaths have occurred in recent years on the lake, but boating accidents with numerous fatalities are rare. The South Lake Tahoe Police Department told KCRA-TV in 2022 there are an average of six deaths on the lake each summer, though there were a record 15 fatalities in 2021. The department couldn’t immediately provide updated numbers.
The intensity of the thunderstorm surprised even forecasters, who had predicted some rain but nothing like the squall that lashed the southern part of the lake around 3 p.m., said meteorologist Matthew Chyba with the National Weather Service office in Reno, Nevada. Winds topped 35 mph (56 kph) and waves swelled up more than 8 feet (2.5 meters).
“We weren’t expecting it to be so strong,” Chyba said.
He said temperatures in the area were far below normal for this time of year, which could have contributed to the unstable air mass.
Eight-foot waves on Tahoe is “pretty significant,” Chyba said. “They were really rocking the lake.”
Lake Tahoe is a popular summer recreation destination for boaters, kayakers and paddleboarders. The pristine lake with very cold water straddles California and Nevada and is one of the deepest in the country, second only to Oregon’s Crater Lake.
Officials haven’t shared any details about the group on the boat that capsized, or said whether the vessel was rented or owned.
Saturday’s storm cleared out within about two hours.
Brittany Glick was on a rented pontoon boat with seven others celebrating a friend’s bachelorette party Saturday when the wind began picking up and the waves started getting bigger. The day had started sunny but suddenly the temperature dropped and there was almost no visibility, Glick said Monday.
“It felt like we were in a tsunami that was starting. I have never experienced anything like that,” she said.
As the boat returned to the dock after about an hour of navigating increasingly choppy waters, soaking the passengers, it started to hail.
“We were shaken up seeing all the boats flipped,” Glick said. “And being drenched in that water, we were so cold. We were shaking uncontrollably. Our feet were numb, and our toes were turning blue. That was probably one of the scariest moments I’ve had in my 30 years. The storm came in so quick. It was terrifying.”
Video obtained by KCRA-TV showed moored boats at a nearby marina crashing into one another amid strong gusts.
