06/23/2026
MEDIA RELEASE
Medical Emergency on Shasta Lake Results in Fatality
On Monday, June 22, 2026, at approximately 4:23 PM, deputies with the Sheriff’s Office Boating Safety Unit responded to the area of Shoemaker Creek in the Big Backbone Inlet on Shasta Lake to a medical call.
It was reported that an adult male subject was swimming near a houseboat when he became unresponsive and went underwater. The man was pulled from the water by bystanders on scene and given medical aid.
Deputies arrived on scene and assisted with rendering medical aid until medical crews arrived. The patient was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced deceased. The decedent has been positively identified as 87-year-old Alvin Eatinger of Ashland, OR. The decedent’s next-of-kin has been notified, and a postmortem examination will be scheduled.
The Shasta County Sheriff’s Office encourages the public to always have proper safety equipment while on waterways and to always wear a Personal Flotation Device.