A body was recovered Sunday morning in Butte County’s Thermalito Afterbay while teams continued their search for 17-year-old Wesley Cornett, one of two teen brothers who went under water in December after his kayak overturned.
Volunteer diver Juan Heredia of Stockton, founder of Angels Recovery Dive Team who had been helping with the search, at 10 a.m. announced the discovery of the body on his Facebook page, which triggered an outpouring of support and kind messages.
Brothers Wesley and Andruw Cornett are shown in this photo their family is using on a GoFundMe page.
The Butte County Sheriff’s Office told television stations that investigators will do a DNA analysis to identify the body and will have more information later. As of Sunday night, the sheriff’s office had yet to release a statement.
The sheriff’s office pulled Andruw Cornett’s body from the water on Tuesday, Dec. 31. He was 19.
The brothers had been duck hunting near the afterbay on Dec. 14. Wesley paddled a kayak to retrieve a fallen duck when it capsized. Andruw called 911 for help. When the 911 operator said it would take time for rescuers to get to the afterbay, he said he was going to swim out to help his younger brother, Butte County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Megan McMann told the Record Searchlight.
A sheriff’s pilot flying over the area as part of the ongoing search for the brothers spotted Andruw’s body the morning of New Year’s Eve, and the sheriff’s office made positive identification that same day.
“He’s a hero in my eyes,” April Clark has written of her older son Andruw on Facebook and on a GoFundMe page. Donors had contributed more than $56,000 to the fund by Sunday night.
Thermalito Afterbay is one of several reservoirs on opposite sides of Thermalito Dam. The afterbay is located southwest of the dam, about 7 miles west of Oroville and about 70 miles north of Sacramento. Its banks lap against grasslands in the 11,800-acre Oroville Wildlife Area, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Thermalito Afterbay is a popular spot for bass and other kinds of fishing, and for boating and water sports, according to recreation websites, and the grasslands attract hunters looking for small game.
In a post Sunday evening, Heredia wrote in part, “Andruw and Wesley will forever remain in my heart. God, please bless their families. They need your strength and comfort now more than ever.”
Record Searchlight reporter Jessica Skropanic contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Body found while searching for California brother whose kayak capsized