Bay Area Man Dies After Slipping in Swimming Hole Near Yosemite

A Richmond man died after he was swept over a waterfall in the Sierra National Forest south of Yosemite National Park while leading a group of campers to a swimming area on Saturday afternoon, a Madera County sheriff's spokeswoman said.

The body of Daniel Greenlaw, 37, was found at the bottom of Camino Falls around 6:30 a.m. Sunday, sheriff's spokeswoman Erica Stuart said.

Greenlaw was a camp host at the Far Meadow Campground.

He took a group of six campers to the West Fork Chiquito Creek area to swim Saturday, Stuart said.

While showing the group how to slide down rocks to reach a swimming hole at about 2:30 p.m. that day, he went further downstream than intended.

He stood up and lost his footing, then fell into the rushing water and was swept over the 100-foot waterfall, Stuart said.

A search party was sent out when Greenlaw and the campers did not return to camp by 11:30 p.m. Around 3 a.m. Sunday, a search-and-rescue crew found the vehicle the group had taken to the swim spot.

About an hour later, six campers were found, Stuart said.

The hikers were a 56-year-old Illinois woman; a 19-year-old woman; two girls ages 13 and 8; and a 44-year-old man and woman 43-year-old woman from England.

The campers had been unable to find the vehicle and had become lost in the wilderness after their group leader went over the waterfall, Stuart said.

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