A man who apparently jumped into the Sacramento River trying to escape from Redding Police has been found dead. Sunday morning officers chased a car across town from North Bonnyview to the Turtle Bay Arboretum off North Market. The chase continued onto the Sacramento River Trail, upriver through Caldwell Park to the boat ramp, where it stopped. The two female passengers stayed in the car while the driver, identified as 38-year-old Michael Smith, and passenger 37-year-old Alex Abrams jumped in the river. They floated down to the diversion dam and Smith swam to shore. He was taken into custody after about 20 minutes of negotiations. A drone, a K9 and boats were used to search for Abrams but he was not found until the discovery of a body Wednesday morning beneath the bluffs north of the Highway 44 Bridge. The Sheriff’s Dive Team recovered the body. Abrams’ family has been notified. Smith is in jail without bail.
-Steve Gibson