'Freak accident' claims life

Kern River Valley Search and Rescue volunteers are joined by Bakersfield’s Search and Rescue Dive Team as they continue to search for Aaron Bricker, 47, of Bakersfield, who drowned in Isabella Lake on Saturday June 27. Bricker’s body was recovered about 9:00 p.m. near the area he was last seen by witnesses who saw him go under water and never resurfaced.

Cathy Perfect
Kern Valley Sun

A “freak accident” is how Aaron Bricker’s longtime friend Kirk Gallenkamp described the sudden and tragic loss of his friend on Saturday.

According to Bricker’s wife, Lee, and other witnesses at the scene, Bricker went into the water to secure his boat after it drifted from shore. “His wife was right there. She heard him roll over and gasp and went under the water and never resurfaced,” Gallenkamp said. Shocked and shaken, Bricker’s friend of 25 years, said, “He loved the water and loved boating; he was a real water enthusiast.”

Bricker, 47, was a resident of Bakersfield who came to the valley “two or three times a month” because he has owned a cabin in the area for 15 years, Gallenkamp said. Gallenkamp recounted a time when Bricker told him when it was his time to die, this (Kern River Valley) is where Bricker wanted to be. He will be buried at Kern River Valley Cemetery Friday, July 3.

When the possible drowning was first reported at approximately 2:45 p.m. on Saturday, personnel from Kern River Valley Search and Rescue and the Lake Patrol responded quickly; they began what Lake Patrol Sgt. Eades described as “the worst part of the job.”

With the combined efforts of all three agencies, Bricker’s body was recovered at 9:00 p.m. “This a good example of why we advise people who are in the water, on the lake, or even near the shore, to always wear life vests,” said Bob Fisher of KRV Search and Rescue.