A fisherman who drowned at Lake Hemet on Sept. 7 was identified by the Riverside County coroner Monday as Xizhe Yin, 49, of Los Angeles.
Yin was fishing with his two friends from the north shore of Lake Hemet, near one of the campgrounds, when his fishing line became tangled before 8 a.m. that day, according to the Sheriff's Department.
He swam out into the water to untangle his line but he was unable to make it back to shore, a sheriff's sergeant said. One of Yin's friends swam out in an attempt to assist him back to shore to no avail.
Witnesses reported the incident to Lake Hemet Security, who called 9-1-1. Cal Fire responded and a sheriff's Dive Team was called out. Divers found Yin and he was pronounced deceased at 4:43 p.m. Sept. 7, according to the coroner.
Lake Hemet is a man-made reservoir off Highway 74, southeast of Mountain Center and Idyllwild in the San Jacinto Mountains.
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