Three friends drown in Sierra Nevada whirlpool while trying to save one another

A group of friends from Utah was hiking through the canyons near the Seven Teacups Trail in Tulare County on Friday when one jumped into a seemingly innocuous pool of water.

Minutes later three people were dead, having been caught in a whirlpool and drowning while trying to save one another.

Led by David Bell, 48, the co-founder of the nonprofit Harrington Center for the Arts, 13 people had gone canyoneering — exploring a canyon by hiking, scrambling or rappelling — in the Sierra Nevada near Johnsondale, the organization said in a social media post. One member of the group, Jeannine Skinner, 34, jumped into the pool, but she didn’t return to the surface and appeared to be caught in an undercurrent, Bell’s sister, Summerisa Bell Stevens, told KSL-TV.

Another member of the group, Peter On, 48, dove into the pool to help Skinner, and Bell followed him, Stevens said. On was able to get away from the current at one point but Skinner couldn’t reach his hand, so he went back in.

“[Then] Dave was able to get himself out of the cycle at the same time that On went unconscious, but Dave saw that Skinner was still in the pattern, [so] he went back and tried to get her out as well,” Stevens said.

Their friends pulled them out of the pool within a few minutes, she said, but all three had lost consciousness and could not be revived.

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Aug. 24, 2024

“These are three amazing, amazing individuals that will be very missed by family, friends and the community at large,” Valecia Green, Bell’s older sister, told KSL.

The Tulare County Fire Department responded to a possible drowning around 5:20 p.m. Friday, and officials found three people dead at the scene, according to local media reports. Another person reportedly had major injuries.

The Fire Department didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.