GASTON, Ore. — Divers on Tuesday recovered the bodies of a mother and two of her children who authorities say drowned in a popular lake west of Portland.
The discovery came a day after the woman’s 3-year-old grandson drowned in Henry Hagg Lake, authorities said.
The family lived in nearby Hillsboro, Ore., and had gone to the lake for a picnic Monday.
It was not clear exactly what happened to the family, but law enforcement officials said they found no sign of foul play.
“We’re just considering this a tragic accident,” said Sgt. Bob Ray of the Washington County sheriff’s office.
Deputies identified the three bodies found Tuesday as those of Jova Ixtacua-Castano, 40, her daughter, Gabriela Garcia-Ixtacua, 25, and son, Michael Garcia-Ixtacua, 13.
The 3-year-old boy found Monday night was identified as Jeremy Scholl.
Because of its size of nearly 2 square miles, the lake has no lifeguards, but the sheriff’s office uses a vessel on weekends for patrols.
The three bodies were discovered about 40 feet offshore in 8 feet of water, and about 50 yards from the spot where the 3-year-old was found.
Authorities worried about the family after their car was found at the scene and there was no sign of them.
Also found at the site Monday evening were a beach towel, cooler, shoes and other personal items, as well as a small dog on a leash.
The lake is a busy recreation site, drawing 800,000 visitors a year — 6,000 a day on busy summer weekends, officials said. It also provides drinking water for Portland suburbs.
There have been previous drownings and near-drownings at Henry Hagg Lake.
The lake can be dangerous because it has steep drop-offs formed by the channel of a creek running beneath the reservoir.
In 2012, eight children nearly drowned after wading into the lake and stepping from the drop-off. They were saved by six people at a family reunion who heard the children yelling and formed a human chain to pull them to shore.
The body of Scholl was found near the drop-off.
