UPDATE: Body of Missing Hiker Recovered

Tom Darby

Placer County, Cal. — The Placer County Sheriff’s Office has recovered a missing hiker’s body from the North Fork of the American River.

Authorities said 40-year-old Eryn VanAcker, who had been missing since Friday, Jan. 2, was located early Monday morning.

Dive teams from the Placer County Sheriff’s Office and the CAL FIRE Nevada–Eastern Placer County Fire Department (NEU/PCFD) Technical Rescue Team recovered her body with the assistance of aerial intelligence from a NEU unmanned aerial system (UAS) drone. A California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services aircraft provided additional support.

VanAcker was seen Friday afternoon around 2:30 p.m. walking with her dog near Colfax. Bystanders found the dog alone. Investigators located VanAcker’s vehicle, phone, and a dog bowl near the river, leading authorities to believe she entered the water and was swept away upstream from Lake Clementine.

Crews deployed raft teams along both riverbanks, drone operators conducted comprehensive aerial searches with overlapping coverage, and K9 teams worked the shoreline and the Codfish Falls Trail. Marine units also conducted sonar operations, dive searches, using remotely operated vehicles, while additional searches took place in Upper Lake and downstream areas to ensure thorough coverage.

“This outcome is not what anyone hoped for,” the Placer County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. “Our deepest condolences are with Eryn’s family, friends and loved ones.”

Authorities did not release additional details about the circumstances surrounding her death.