County Coroner Identifies July 3 Drowning Victim, Recovered Yesterday, as Ta Ming Fu of Alhambra

The body found floating on Big Bear Lake yesterday morning was indeed the 33-year-old swimmer who was presumed to be a drowning victim on Friday afternoon, July 3. The deceased has been identified by the San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner Department as Ta Ming Fu, a resident of Alhambra. Fu’s friends had reported to emergency personnel that they had been unable to locate him after jumping in the lake from their boat to help him, as he was said to be struggling in rough water off Big Bear Lake’s North Shore, just east of the observatory in about 27 feet of water. Last Friday’s recovery effort, which included Lake Patrol and staff from the Big Bear Municipal Water District, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department’s helicopters and dive teams, and crews from County Fire Station #49 in Fawnskin and the Big Bear City Fire Department, extended through Sunday, July 5, to no avail, despite the use of sonar equipment. Recovery efforts resumed yesterday morning when a jet skier on Big Bear Lake saw the body in the 8 o’clock hour; this individual, as well as a paddleboat company, called emergency personnel, which prompted the recovery effort that again included MWD, County Fire from Fawnskin and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. An autopsy will be done on the body of Ta Ming Fu to determine the exact cause of his death. For additional information on yesterday’s recovery effort, see our story dated July 9.