STANISLAUS COUNTY, Calif. – A mother’s love cost a woman her life as she jumped into the San Joaquin River in Central California last week to assist her struggling daughter, according to reports.
Brenda Duran, 30, saw that her 11-year-old daughter was unable to keep her head above water while playing at a popular beach along the river, so she jumped in to save the child, just days before Mother’s Day, according to the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office.
Sadly, as Duran sought to rescue her daughter on Thursday, May 9, at about 6:30 p.m., she “struggled to stay afloat,” the sheriff’s office said. Soon, the river’s current overpowered the mother, FOX 11 Los Angeles reported.
Duran’s 14-year-old son saw his mother was struggling, and jumped back into the flowing current to try to reach her, but was unable to get to her in time, SCSO said.
Both children managed to safely swim their way out of the water, according to KKTV.
First responders along with search and rescue dive teams spent hours in the water. However, “visibility and safety” concerns forced the search to be suspended about 11 p.m., officials said.
Finally, after two days of searching, Duran’s body was recovered on Saturday, May 11, at about 5:30 p.m. just outside Newman, California.
“Brenda’s husband describes her as a ‘very thriving person, always smiling, never giving up and very compassionate,’” Yadira Herrera wrote on a GoFundMe post on behalf of Duran’s family.
“Brenda, a young mother full of love and laughter, leaves behind her three children, her husband and her extended family that will forever hold her in her heart.”
First responders from all over the area around San Joaquin River tried to find and save Brenda Duran. (Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office)
An autopsy will be performed to confirm what already appears to be an apparent cause of death — drowning.
“We extend our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Brenda Duran during this time,” the sheriff’s office said.
The 366-mile San Joaquin River starts in Yosemite and Kings Canyon National Parks and runs through the San Joaquin Valley south of Sacramento.
San Joaquin River in central California is a popular beach spot. (Google Street view)
Following Duran’s death, the sheriff’s office is reminding people to wear life jackets and to remember how fast and cold the water can be as the snowpack from winter melts away.
