Fil-Am hiker found dead after jumping into California waterfall
Valentino Creus | Matt Meeks/Facebook
LOS ANGELES – A Filipino American from Los Angeles was one of the three hikers whose bodies were found Sunday after they jumped into the Rattlesnake Falls in Soda Springs, California.
The bodies of 59-year-old Fil-Am accountant Valentino Creus, Matthew Schoenecker and Matthew Anthony have been identified by the Placer County Sheriff’s Office.
Schoenecker, 50, was also from LA and Anthony, 44, was from New York City.
“It is with heavy hearts that we share the bodies of the three men have been recovered,” the sheriff’s office wrote in a Facebook post. “Our heartfelt condolences go out to their families, friends and all those affected by this tragic loss.”
Rescue team from the Placer County Sheriff’s Office | Photo from Placer County Sheriff’s Office/Facebook
The three men were part of a six-person hiking group when they jumped into the water, according to a series of Facebook posts by the Placer County Sheriff’s Office.
“Multiple resources have been deployed for the search, including the Sheriff’s Office Dive Team, Search and Rescue units, CAL FIRE’s Technical Rescue Team and CHP’s helicopter,” the Sheriff’s office wrote in one of their posts. “The terrain is extremely remote and difficult to access, making rescue efforts especially challenging.”
A California Highway Patrol helicopter was used to evacuate the remaining hikers after the incident.
Schoenecker and Anthony tried to save Creus, Juan Heredia, a diver who located the bodies Saturday, told the Los Angeles Times.
“He started panicking and then the two Matts jumped in to save him, but they couldn’t and they drowned,” Heredia said.
Creus – who worked at the accounting firm Turner, Warren, Hwang & Conrad – studied accounting at De La Salle University, according to his Facebook page.
He also studied International Business and Entrepreneurship and Taxation at University of Southern California.
In a Facebook post, Creus’ friend Matt Meeks described him as “a numerary in Opus Dei – which means he made faithful promises to serve Jesus and the Church through his work and through friendship.”
“He spent his working hours as an accountant and all other free time living with other men praying for the people he encountered, leading retreats, tutoring youth, mentoring men in their marriages and work, and leading small group meetings,” Meeks wrote.
He recounted a conversation they had, writing “(Creus) asked me when I was going to go all in and really commit to the work of God – to a daily plan of prayer, to walking with and working for others through friendship.”
“I told him that I feel like I’m standing at the edge of a great river but I don’t know if it’s my river,” Meeks recalled.
“Val looked at me and said, ‘Well if God led you to a river and you don’t have anywhere else to walk, maybe he wants you to jump in and let that river overtake you. See where it goes you know?”’
