Emergency personnel were unable to save the life of a drowning victim who was pulled from the Ceres Main Canal Wednesday morning, Sept. 13.

The 39-year-old victim was identified as John Rosenberger, a Modesto transient.

Police, fire and ambulance personnel were called at 8:04 a.m. to the canal along Whitmore Avenue near Moore Road after several persons reported seeing Rosenberger drowning. Witnesses saw Rosenberger take off some of his clothing, fold it and set it aside before going into the canal shortly after 8 a.m. The current swept him under and eventually under the Whitmore Avenue culvert.

Police were first to arrive and found the lifeless man in the water, pulled Rosenberger out and began CPR. Fire personnel assumed CPR and with the AMR ambulance crew continued lifesaving measures for 45 minutes. Rosenberger was estimated to have been in the canal two minutes.

Following lifesaving measures, paramedics contacted on-duty physicians at a local hospital and Rosenberger was declared dead at the scene.

Anyone with information on the victim or the drowning is asked to contact Detective Bryan Ferreira at 538-5616.