Pamela Suwinsky

It took South Lake Tahoe police officers a year to determine that the drowning death of a Sacramento woman was just that – a drowning.

Pamela Suwinsky, 62, was reported missing by her ex-husband on April 3, 2017. Her body was recovered six days later by the El Dorado County dive team in the Upper Truckee River.

Suwinsky and her husband had been staying at the Motel 6 on Highway 50 in South Lake Tahoe when she left on foot without her dog, purse, cell phone or car. She had her ID and credit cards with her.

According to the police department, they “initiated a full homicide investigation into her death.”  In the end, it was determined no crime was committed.

The El Dorado County coroner has ruled her death as an accidental drowning.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report