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FIELDING, Box Elder County — Police identified a man who drowned in the Cutler Dam Canal Tuesday.
Millville resident Francisco Isreal Hilera, 18, was swimming and fishing with five other young adults Tuesday evening. Four of them were swimming in the canal, and as they floated down, they planned to grab onto an overhead flume. Hilera missed the flume and continued to float down the canal, according to the Box Elder County Sheriff’s Office.
The others saw him go under the water and said it looked like he was in distress before he went under. His friends last saw him around 5:40 p.m. Several agencies responded to search for him, and he was found around 9 p.m. and pronounced dead on scene, police said.
"We would … like to note that incidents of this nature are distressing to all involved but are avoidable," Box Elder County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Dale Ward said Tuesday. "These canals are private property and swimming in them is dangerous and against the law, as it is trespassing. Individuals, no matter how strong a swimmer or how good of physical condition, can quickly be caught up in the swift undercurrents and get into bad situations."
Ward warned that police will seek criminal charges against anyone found swimming in canals. An investigation into Hilera's death remains open pending results from a medical examiner, but no charges are currently being considered against the other swimmers in the group, he said.
"They've paid the ultimate price here; they've lost one of their friends," Ward said. "A fun situation can go bad in a hurry; we just don't want anyone to get hurt."
