Woman disappears from Sierra swimming hole God’s Bath

She is the ninth person known to have drowned or been swept away in a California river since April.

A woman went missing on Memorial Day from the Sierra Nevada swimming hole God’s Bath, Tuolumne County sheriff’s officials said.

She is at least the ninth person known to have drowned or been swept away in a California river since April.

The disappearance was reported at 6:30 p.m. Monday. The 22-year-old Galt resident had walked to the Clavey River with a male companion and had last been seen in the water at or near God’s Bath.

The search continued Tuesday and Wednesday with ground volunteers and a California Highway Patrol helicopter. Because the river is running fast and cold during the snowpack melt, it was deemed too dangerous for rescue swimmers and divers.

In the past two years, three Bay Area men died after being swept from the swimming hole in the Stanislaus National Forest: two in May 2021 and one last year.

About a 40-minute drive east of the town of Tuolumne, God’s Bath is on a remote stretch of the Clavey River in a narrow granite canyon. It’s reached by a half-mile walk along the rocky banks, with fixed ropes aiding the descent to the river.

Tuolumne County rescue officials were also called Monday to another swimming hole, Cleo’s Bath, where a 28-year-old man with a broken leg was lifted out by a helicopter crew.

Cleo’s Bath is on the South Fork Stanislaus River about a 1½-mile hike east of Pinecrest Lake.