Aqueduct canal drowning victim is identified as San Jose man

A man who apparently drowned over the weekend in the California Aqueduct Canal near Los Banos was identified Wednesday as a 23-year-old San Jose resident, the Merced County Coroner’s Office reported.

Javier Alba Alta was fishing Friday night with three friends when he apparently jumped into the canal to retrieve something that may have fallen in. He did not come back up, the Sheriff’s Department said.

Investigators struggled to locate Alta for several days before the Sheriff’s Dive Team located and retrieved his body Tuesday.

The men were fishing off the west bank of the canal near Canyon Road, west of Los Banos, the Sheriff’s Department said.

Detectives said the death appears accidental and is not considered suspicious.

This story was originally published October 29, 2014 at 6:13 PM with the headline "Aqueduct canal drowning victim is identified as San Jose man."