Deputies: Man drowns after canoe overturns

A man who disappeared in Tehama County while canoeing on the Sacramento River this weekend with two other people drowned, deputies with the Tehama County Sheriff's Office said Tuesday.

Michael Keaohou Lujan, 35, of Red Bluff, was with another man and a woman on the river near Jellys Ferry Road and Saron Fruit Colony Road when their canoe overturned Friday night, said Lt. Yvette Borden with the sheriff's office.

Deputies went to the area after receiving reports at about 11:40 p.m. of people screaming in the water. By 3:30 a.m. Saturday, they'd rescued the man and woman, whose identities haven't been released, Borden said.

But they weren't able to find Lujan until about 5:30 p.m. Sunday, a few hours after they'd discovered Lujan's backpack, Borden said. His body had been found along the Sacramento River's banks under some trees, Borden said.

An autopsy done Tuesday determined he'd drowned, she said.

The other two canoers were treated for exposure Saturday morning and released later the same day, she said. None of them was wearing a life jacket.

The California Highway Patrol's helicopter assisted with the searches, she said.