Woman who died while taking photo at Lake Tahoe identified as Bay Area mother

The young woman who died Friday while trying to take a photo near Eagle Falls in Emerald Bay was identified by the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office as 35-year-old Bay Area woman Dina Espinosa.

The Tahoe Truckee Rescue Team responded to the falls Friday to recover Espinosa’s body, according to a social media post from the North Tahoe Fire Protection District.

El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office deputies said Espinosa was sitting in a pool of water near a waterfall when she lost her footing while reaching for a branch. Espinosa was “swept away by very fast moving waters over the waterfall,” department spokesman Sgt. Anthony Prencipe said in a statement.

Espinosa had three children, according to a GoFundMe page posted by her brother in order to raise funds for funeral costs.

“Those of you who knew Stephanie know how much love she gave to everyone in her life, how she was always there to help and support in anyway that she could,” her brother, Nick Martinez wrote. “She would light up any room she walked into. She gave everything for those that she loved, she loved nature, being in the outdoors and spending time with her kids.”

This story was originally published June 2, 2019 at 2:24 PM with the headline "Woman who died while taking photo at Lake Tahoe identified as Bay Area mother."