Tragedy as California mom and her boyfriend are found dead at picturesque waterfall – as heartbroken family reveal how they lost their lives

The bodies of a Californian couple who died in a hiking accident were found at a scenic waterfall near Yosemite.

James Hall, 35, and Monica Ledesma, 34, were located Wednesday at the Madera County Sheriff’s Office in Angel Falls.

Now their devastated families have revealed Hall is believed to have fallen into the water while trying to rescue Ledesma, a mother-of-two.

Both their bodies were found after police received a panicked call about a woman floating in the water.

‘James died a hero trying to save his girlfriend Monica. Sadly, they were both taken from us,” his family said in a statement GoFundMe for his funeral expenses.

Friends describe the couple as ‘family through and through’ and Ledesma is survived by an 8-year-old son and 14-year-old daughter

Rescuers identified Ledesma and she was pronounced dead at the scene. Crews noticed items indicating another person may be missing, and they began a desperate search for Hall.

Search and rescue teams, along with USFS, Madera County Fire & CALFire, Sierra Ambulance and the California Highway Patrol H-40 helicopter were called to the scene.

‘Officers have found objects that lead them to believe that an adult man may also be missing. Searches were subsequently initiated to confirm and locate him,” the Madera County Sheriff’s Office said.

‘During the recovery work, a male was also removed from the water.’

The couple is remembered as “kind, loving and crazy.” Ledesma leaves behind an 8-year-old son and a 14-year-old daughter.

‘[Monica] was a loving mother, sister and daughter, leaving behind a daughter and son,’ a GoFundMe because Ledesma’s family said.

The Madera County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene at Angel Falls (pictured) after receiving a panicked call about a woman floating in the water

After identifying Ledesma, rescuers noticed Hall’s property and began a desperate search for him, only to discover his body in the water nearby.

A wake was held for the couple at the Chukchansi Pow Wow grounds on Friday.

‘Monica and James were important here, they were important because they were family. Unrelated except by memory. Kindness is something they all have in common and they were examples,” said friend Nancy O’Hara KFSN.

“Not only were they kind and considerate and looking after us old people, they looked after the young people too.”

‘Their sense of humor. Especially those are things that, as you get older, you really need in your life,” O’Hara said.

The family said Hall died while trying to save Ledesma during the tragic accident

The sheriff’s office is warning hikers to take extra precautions while out and about. They said rocks can be slippery even when not wet, and the water can become extremely fast and cold.

Madera County Sheriff Tyson Pogue said, “Our hearts go out to the families of those who lost their lives at Angel Falls today.

“We would like to thank our alliance partners for their outstanding support and response to today’s events, the simultaneous occurrence of which has greatly drained resources.”

“I applaud the efforts of the rescue and recovery teams, who carried out their duties diligently and respectfully.”