Family, Friends Of Drowning Victim Thankful For Support Shown At Lake Elsinore

It's been an incomprehensible last 72 hours for the Nunez family of Rancho Cucamonga.

Sunday afternoon, , 50, went missing after his boat capsized on Lake Elsinore. It was found near the spot where he went missing -- just 35 yards offshore.

A good Samaritan, Jaime Jimenez, 30, of Long Beach, rescued the family, but Gammy could not be found.

Nunez’s family was at the recovery site Wednesday. After his father was pulled from the calm water, younger son Marc thanked all the first responders and rescue workers who were committed to finding his father, and he thanked Lake Elsinore residents who provided support to the family as they awaited word.

He said local residents dried the family’s clothes after they were rescued and offered encouraging sentiments.

And he extended a special thank you to Jimenez, who saved the family from drowning in the choppy waters on that tragic day.

Marc said two campers onshore also helped with rescue efforts, and he said his family is forever grateful to all the support shown to them.

Jeremy said his father will “be remembered for the great man that he is and always will be in our hearts, even in his last seconds (he) was still every bit of the hero he always was in my eyes.”

Enri Derosas of Chino Hills, a friend and fishing buddy of Gammy’s, was at the shore Wednesday when his friend’s body was recovered.

“Every time we had a chance to fish, we did,” he said, as he recalled his nearly three-year friendship with Gammy. “We always had a good time when we went out.”

Derosas said Gammy had just purchased the boat that capsized on Sunday.

“He asked me and my wife to bring our boat out to join he and his family Sunday,” Derosas said. “But my schedule was too tight.

“I can’t say anything negative about him,” Derosas continued. “He was one of the best guys I ever met.”

As he stared out at the spot where his friend went down, Derosas said he was so thankful that the rest of the family had been spared.

"I just pray to God and am thankful his body was found," Derosas said.

Speaking via email Tuesday from the Philippines, Johanne Villavicencio, Nunez’s niece, said her uncle was “a very strong man … a good man, a very good man,” who was “a very loving, caring, happy person.”