Lake Tahoe Capsize Victims Identified

The El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office Coroner’s Division has released the names of eight people who died when a boat capsized during a sudden storm on South Lake Tahoe on Saturday afternoon. Ten people were aboard a 27-ft Chris-Craft when it was capsized amid 30-knot winds and a 6- to 8-foot swell.

An update shared by SFGate on Tuesday afternoon reports that a seasonal lifeguard aide and a ranger were first on the scene. Two women were able to swim, one on her own; the other was assisted by the lifeguard aide. Six people were floating face down in the water.

2News Nevada reported that a seventh body had been found on Sunday evening. The remaining body was found by divers on Monday.

The deceased have been identified as: Joshua Antony Pickles, 37 years old, from San Francisco; his parents Paula Bozinovich, 71, and Terry Pickles, 73, from Redwood City; Peter Bayes, 72, from Lincoln (Joshua Pickles’ uncle); Timothy O’Leary, 71, from Auburn; Theresa Giullari, 66, and James Guck, 69, from Honeoye, NY; and Stephen Lindsay, 63, from Springwater, NY.

The two survivors were admitted to hospital. Their names and condition have not been released.

There has been no report of whether anyone aboard the Chris-Craft was wearing life jackets.

Family representative Sam Singer said the boat belonged to Joshua and Terry Pickles, who were “avid, experienced boaters,” SFGate reported yesterday. They had bought the boat within this past year and were on the lake celebrating Paula Bozinovich’s 71st birthday.

According to SouthTahoeNOW, Saturday morning’s forecast did not mention a storm. By 1 p.m. the National Weather Service was predicting a 10- to 20% chance of thunderstorms. A USCG spokesperson told reporters the sudden change in weather was caused by a microburst.

Conditions at 2:10 p.m. Saturday were 55 degrees, sunny with scattered clouds and 7 mph west-southwest winds. “Over the next 43 minutes, the wind changed direction, and it was 16-24 mph with gusts up to 36 mph, and the temperature had dropped to 43,” SouthTahoeNOW reported. Rain started at 3:30 p.m. and the temperature dropped to 37. By 4:25 p.m. winds had dropped to a 3 mph breeze and the skies were clearing to high, scattered clouds.

It is estimated that waves at the time of the tragedy were “8-10-foot, on top of swelling water, which behaves differently on Lake Tahoe than on the ocean.” Responders were called to assist with multiple capsized boats along the lake’s south and southwest shoreline.