The Stanislaus River has claimed two more lives.

The main culprit is chilly and swift-moving water. The water temperature is estimated to be in the mid-40-degree range due to the late snow melt while the velocity of water flow has escalated from 300 cubic feet per second now up to 2,000 CFS.

The body of a drowned 20-year-old Tracy man was found shortly before 3 p.m. Tuesday near where he had been swimming in the Stanislaus River at Caswell State Park south of Ripon. He was one of two men who drowned earlier this week.

Alfonso Zambrano-Villegas had been picnicking with friends and had entered the water about 4 p.m.  Monday when he complained of being tired and couldn’t make it back to the shore.  The Sheriff’s water safety unit, firefighters from Ripon and a California Highway Patrol helicopter all joined in a search for the man until darkness brought a halt to the effort.

Sheriff’s spokesman Deputy Les Garcia reported that a recovery operation began Tuesday morning when officers manned three aluminum boats dragging the river bottom.  He said the man’s body was found under water where it was hung up on debris.

Garcia said his friends had used flotation devices in a vain attempt to rescue their friend as they saw him struggling to stay afloat in the frigid and fast moving water.  He added that a night recovery mission had potential dangers because of unseen submerged tree stumps and other branches and vegetation.

Another drowning on the Stanislaus River took place on Tuesday with a 21-year-old man was also swimming and unable to stay afloat.  His body was later discovered by rescuers near Jacob Meyers Park in Riverbank.  Also on Tuesday firefighters in Escalon rescued a swimmer who was reportedly in trouble approaching the McHenry Avenue bridge.

A South San Joaquin Irrigation District spokesman estimated the water temperature to be in the low as well – nearly 50 degrees below normal body temperature.   He said the water being released from the reservoirs comes from the coldest source near the bottom taking some six hours to reach the Ripon area.

The Army Corps of Engineers has posted a warning at the entrance to the McHenry Recreation Area on River Road in Escalon cautioning citizens of the dangers of the water and urges the use of life vests.