SONOMA COUNTY (KRON)-A man who died Wednesday in a canoe accident has been identified as 45-year-old Lamerle Johnson, of Oakland,according to the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office.
Johnson was attending a leadership retreat in the 4000 block of Mountain Home Ranch in unincorporated Sonoma County near Calistoga, according to Sheriff’s Sgt. Spencer Crum.
He was in a canoe on a private lake alone when the canoe topped and he fell into the icy water around 7:30 a.m.
Johnson was not wearing a life jacket and was not an experienced swimmer, Crum said.
Two witnesses jumped into the lake to save Johnson, but he was not visible under the murky water, said Crum.
Johnson’s body had surfaced before the sheriff’s dive team arrived, Crum said.
Johnson was pronounced dead at the scene.
