The woman whose body was pulled from the Santa Ana River in Fountain Valley on New Year’s Day was the mother of two girls, family members say.
The woman, identiifed by relatives as 39-year-old Alejandra Ramirez Torres, was first reported in the water near Warner Avenue and Harbor Boulevard in Costa Mesa shortly before noon. Authorities said she was hollering for help, according to Fox11.
About 60 firefighters from Orange County, Fountain Valley and Costa Mesa fire departments responded to the scene, according to the Orange County Fire Authority. Swift-water rescue teams later recovered Torres near Ellis Avenue, after she was carried approximately two miles in fast-moving water.
She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Officials said Torres was homeless at the time of her death. The circumstances that led to her entering the river were not known.
Torres had lived in Tustin, and leaves behind two daughters, ages 11 and 16, her family said on a GoFundMe established to help cover funeral expenses and provide support for the girls. The family could not be reached for comment Saturday.
“This sudden and heartbreaking loss has deeply affected our family, and we are doing everything we can to support Alejandra’s girls as they face an uncertain future without their mother,” the fundraiser, organized by Michelle Flores Norman, states.
Victor Torres, Alejandra’s cousin, said her daughters were involved in a bus crash in Running Springs in November, when a bus carrying 32 children overturned, CBS News reported.
“Her two girls have been through a lot recently,” Torres told the station. “Right now, they’re with the family. They’re pretty devastated. We’re trying to be there as much as we can for them in the future as well.”