Santa Rosa father, son who drowned at Goat Rock Beach were part of school

There wasn’t anyone 6-year-old Axel Sanchez Medina didn’t know at Cesar Chavez Language Academy. The Santa Rosa first-grader always stopped to say hello and seemed to know everyone by name, including the custodian, teacher aides and yard-duty workers, Principal Rebekah Rocha said.

“He had a way of connecting with them,” she said. “He always seemed to be in a good mood, always had a smile - very bright-eyed.”

Axel and his father, Omar Sanchez Hernandez, who volunteered at school, drowned at Goat Rock Beach on Sunday afternoon.

A rip current swept away Axel and his brother, William, 8. Their father likely jumped into the surf in attempt to save them, said Sgt. Tim Murphy, a lifeguard with California State Parks.

William, also a student at Santa Rosa’s Cesar Chavez Language Academy, was the only one who made it out safely.

Their father was pulled out of the water by a lifeguard and bystanders around 2:40 p.m., according to a witness. The lifeguard began performing CPR, but the 31-year-old man was pronounced dead shortly after first responders arrived on the beach about 2:45 p.m.

Three helicopters - belonging to the CHP, Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Coast Guard - searched for Axel, as his mother, Yesenia, brother and another relative watched from the beach.

His body washed up on the beach about an hour later. Emergency responders started CPR, but the boy was pronounced dead minutes later.

Axel and his brother were running along the beach when a wave came crashing down and pulled them into the surf, Murphy said.

“We don’t think they had any intention of going into the water,” he said. “This is a tragic accident that unfortunately happens way too often on the coast.”

Rocha said the family alerted the school about the drownings. Faculty and staff members were notified after students were released from school Monday. The school robo-called parents later after authorities released the victims’ names, she said.

Grief counselors will be on the 310-student campus along with school counselors today as teachers break the news to classmates, Rocha said. They’ll also have therapy dogs available.

Like his son, Sanchez Hernandez, 31, was well-liked on campus, where he’d volunteered for nearly three months, controlling traffic and ensuring the school drop-off zone was safe.

“Rain or shine, he was out there trying to move the cars,” Rocha said.

She said he was involved in his kids’ education. He and his wife often volunteered and stopped by the K-4 school to talk to teachers and administrators.

They wanted their children to be successful. Sanchez Hernandez recently purchased a Google Home smart device so that Axel could get answers to the many questions he always asked, she said.

“He just wanted to know answers for everything … He wanted to know about presidents, how this person died, animal facts,” Rocha said. “He was full of information and facts.”

The Sanchez family did not return calls seeking comment.

You can reach Staff Writer Eloísa Ruano González at 707-521-5458 or eloisa.gonzalez@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @eloisanews. You can reach Staff Writer Nick Rahaim at 707-521-5203 or nick.rahaim@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @nrahaim.