Body Recovered at Toketee Falls, Sept. 17

The body of 23 year-old Brian Lewinstein of Berkeley, California was recovered from Toketee Falls late Thursday night, Sept. 13.  Lewinstein fell into the first pool at Toketee Falls after crossing a safety fence to take a photograph from above the falls on Sunday, August 12, 2018. A large scale search and rescue mission was performed by members of Douglas County Search and Rescue in the days and weeks following the initial response. On Thursday, September 13, 2018, at about 5:45 pm, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office received a call reporting two hikers observed Lewinstein’s body in the second pool of the falls. Deputies along with Search and Rescue personnel immediately responded to perform a recovery mission, which included steep angle rappelling. At approximately 10:00 pm, mountain rescue personnel brought Lewinstein’s body back to the trail. The Douglas County Medical Examiner’s Office has positively identified Lewinstein and his family has been notified. “We are glad that we were able to provide his family with some answers and sincerely hope that they are able to find some comfort in the fact that he was located. Our heartfelt thoughts go out to his family and friends.”