San Jose man pulls dozens of electric scooters from Guadalupe River

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- Roger Castillo, of the Salmon and Steelhead Restoration Group, has a deep love for San Jose's Guadalupe River.

"There are beavers, salmon, endangered steelhead, and rainbow trout," Castillo said.

Castillo believes the thriving river creatures are all at-risk because of electric scooters.

"This is one that the homeless tried to disassemble and they've cut into the battery," Castillo said as he showed off the scooters he collected.

"These are ones that have been taken apart. These were all under water. You can see the algae. Some of these have been under water for at least a year," he said.

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Antonio Ramirez works for Bird, and told ABC7 News he drops off scooters next to the river.

"Yeah, sometimes I see the scooters, and homeless people will take them and scrap them for parts," Ramirez said. "Try to take money for them."

Castillo said he has also seen people throw scooters in the river.

Friday, he demonstrated how quickly he can find them. Castillo located a scooter in the river and pulled it out in under a minute.

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When asked what he would like the city to do, Castillo said, "They need to be responsible. Quit issuing these permits."

However, Castillo also realizes that may be tough. He is also launching a GoFundMe to raise money for a surveillance system that would patrol the river.

In the meantime, he is hopeful some additional volunteers will step in to help keep their river clean.

If you would like to help Castillo with the cleanup process, contact him via email at rocast1@comcast.net.