A 22-year-old man died after he was swept over the edge of Nevada Fall in Yosemite National Park on June 20, plunging nearly 600 feet down one of California’s most iconic waterfalls while another visitor risked her own life in a desperate attempt to pull him to safety.
Josue Baires Alfaro had been swimming in the Merced River when the current dragged him toward the brink of the 594-foot drop. Freesia Gaul, a 20-year-old entrepreneur and former volunteer lifeguard who had spent five years lifesaving in Australia, was photographing the scene at the top of the fall when she spotted him struggling in the water. She dropped her camera and ran in fully clothed.
Gaul told SFGATE the surface of the river looked deceptively peaceful. “People see calm water, but they don’t realize that under that there’s a huge undercurrent,” she said.
A Desperate Rescue Attempt
What unfolded in the minutes that followed was harrowing. Gaul, who grew up in a family that operated a wilderness tourism company in British Columbia, recognized the danger beneath the calm surface the moment she entered the river. The current immediately overwhelmed her. It pulled her underwater and dragged her across rocks worn smooth by centuries of rushing water. Swimming became nearly impossible. She tried to slow herself by expanding her body across the riverbed, cutting her wrists and legs as she clawed at the slippery stone.
At some point, Gaul understood she was no longer conducting a rescue. She was fighting for her own survival. A lull in the rapids offered a narrow window, and a bystander on the bank thrust a walking stick into the water. Gaul grabbed for it and missed. She had one final chance before being swept farther downstream. She caught it and scrambled to safety.
Gaul said that after making direct eye contact with Alfaro and recognizing he was about to be swept over the edge, she couldn’t bring herself to turn away.
She looked back and watched Alfaro go over the edge. His body was recovered later that day. Emergency personnel had begun receiving reports of someone going over the falls around 11 a.m., and rangers along with search-and-rescue crews were dispatched to begin recovery operations below the falls.
Victim Identified, Investigation Opened
Kristie Mitchell, a spokesperson for the Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office Coroner Division, identified the victim as 22-year-old Josue Baires Alfaro and confirmed that the National Park Service is handling the investigation into his death. It was not immediately clear what city Alfaro lived in. Witness accounts that spread online described a swift-water incident above the fall, with one person reportedly pulled from the water while a second was seen being carried over.
Gaul remained with Alfaro’s family afterward, helping gather his belongings and staying close as they prayed. About an hour passed before search-and-rescue personnel arrived at the scene.
A Waterfall With a Deadly History
Nevada Fall, a 594-foot cascade on the Merced River, is one of the signature landmarks along Yosemite’s popular Mist Trail. The park draws roughly four million visitors each year and sits about three and a half hours east of San Francisco, making it one of the most accessible wilderness destinations in the American West.
The fall has claimed lives before. In 2013, a 19-year-old from California died after being carried by the current toward the precipice. In 2018, an Israeli teenager fell 800 feet to his death from a cliff while photographing himself near the waterfall.
The National Park Service warns visitors never to swim or wade upstream from the brink of any waterfall, even when the water looks shallow or calm. Officials have also cautioned that spring and early summer runoff can render rivers and streams exceptionally cold, high, and fast-moving — conditions that make the Merced River particularly treacherous during the warmer months when tourists arrive in the greatest numbers. The agency has urged extreme caution near all flowing water and wet rock in the area.
Park Service Continues to Investigate
The National Park Service has opened a formal investigation into Alfaro’s death. Officials have released few additional details about what led to him entering the water. Yosemite officials have not yet confirmed what city he lived in or provided further context about the circumstances preceding the incident.
For Gaul, the memory of looking Alfaro in the eyes before he disappeared over the edge is not one she can set aside easily. She later told SFGATE she wondered whether a faster reaction might have changed the outcome, a thought that speaks less to any failure on her part than to the indifferent power of the river itself.