08/21/2026
There's currently a multi-agency search underway at Beardsley Lake coordinated by Tuolumne County Sheriff. This is a textbook multi-agency response, with excellent technology and human assets being deployed in a very difficult situation.
Family members have been in touch with us, and we've urged everyone to please let the expert first responders do their job. Ignore self-proclaimed experts on social media. This is not a situation where a recreational diver or super snorkler can do anything but get in the way, and maybe spread bad information. It's highly technical work, in very challenging circumstances.
The assumed last seen location is in nearly 200' deep water - well beyond the reach of hand searches. It's near the dam, in a narrow ravine, limiting the optimal use of towfish sonar, which is usually the best tool for large area searches. And ROV sonar struggles with the terrain, which is filled with big boulders and drop-offs - and the video systems are useless in the black water at depth unless you're within a few inches of your target.
And at these depths, there's no assurance that nature will return Arturo.
Our hopes and prayers are with the family and with those working long frustrating hours on-scene. This is a difficult situation for all involved.
