A New Yorker and two companions tragically died last week after jumping into a waterfall, while hiking on a remote and perilous trail in northern California, authorities reported.
Matthew Anthony, 44, from New York City, embarked on a hike Wednesday with five others in Soda Springs, located approximately three miles from Donner Pass, an alpine trail situated at an elevation of 7,000 feet in the northern Sierra Nevada.
Following a three-hour trek over challenging terrain, Anthony, alongside his two friends, Valentino Creus and Matthew Schoenecker, both 50 and from Los Angeles, decided to take a refreshing leap into Rattlesnake Falls, according to the Placer County Sheriff’s Office.
The men never came out of the water after they took the plunge.
The other three hikers in their group called 911 and rescue workers began a frantic search. After three days, divers recovered their bodies, police said.
“It is with heavy hearts that we share that the bodies of the three men have been recovered,” the sheriff said in a statement.
“Our heartfelt condolences go out to their families, friends, and all those affected by this tragic loss.”
The three victims volunteered for the International Circle of Genetic Studies, a program that connects professors of genetics and molecular biology to undergraduate and high school students to conduct studies and research in the field.
“We regret to inform you that three of our advisors passed away last Wednesday, June 18th, 2025 in an accident near San Francisco,” the organization wrote in a statement on Facebook. “Their names are Dr. Mathew Schoenecker, Dr. Mathew Anthony and Val Creus, M.S. REQUIESCAM IN PACEM!!!! We give our sympathy to their families.”
The Sheriff’s Office’s dive team, Search and Rescue Units, CAL Fire’s technical rescue team and California Highway Patrol’s helicopter all contributed to the search.
The three hikers who didn’t jump were taken off the trail by a helicopter while the search continued for their friends.
Rescue workers were initially confronted by powerful winds, poor visibility, debris and strong currents, limiting their search, according to the sheriff’s office.
On Sunday, conditions cleared up and the search resumed.
A local diver, Juan Heredia, was part of the team that found the bodies. He did four dives of almost 3 minutes each in deep, ice-cold water, he wrote in a social media post.
“We couldn’t wait. I knew it could take weeks to surface,” he wrote. “Families needed to close this chapter already.”
He got the signal to go into the water at 9 p.m., he said. A sergeant told him, “We’re going to send a team to walk right now to take care of the bodies.”
He described swimming against the waterfall as “brutal.”
“[It] was pushing me hard,” he wrote. “But I wouldn’t leave without those 3 souls.”
