Man drowns in Feather River near Sutter County Airport

An unidentified man died from an apparent drowning in the Feather River near the Sutter County Airport on Monday afternoon after he appeared to be stuck under a log.

Emergency crews responded about 12:45 p.m. to reports of a man drowning near the levee off Second Street in the Mosquito Beach area. When rescuers arrived, they found the man in the water, said Sutter County Sheriff J. Paul Parker.

Efforts were taken to save the man before he was transferred to Rideout Memorial Hospital and pronounced dead, Parker said. The official cause of death is pending an autopsy.

Yuba City resident Gene Tanksley Jr. spotted the man splashing under a log near the shore.

Tanksley, who was fishing off a personal watercraft, went over to help the man, but had a difficult time dislodging him from under the log, he said.

Most of the man's body was submerged, and it appeared as if his left arm was stuck, Tanksley said.

"It was like something had hold of him," he said.

For the next 10 minutes, Tanksley said he struggled to pull the man to safety.

The man was conscious while Tanksley called for help, he said, but he was coughing up lots of water.

An investigation is ongoing, Parker said, and the victim's identity was not released.

CONTACT Griffin Rogers at grogers@appealdemocrat.com or 749-4783. Find him on Facebook at /ADgriffinrogers or on Twitter at @ADgriffinrogers.