San Diego's heavy rainfall has flooded several homes in San Carlos, forcing three families to evacuate.

The storm waters rose throughout the weekend in the 7900 block fo Beaver Lake Drive. 

By 6:45 p.m. Saturday, residents reported water flooding into their homes. In some spots, the levels reached up to electrical outlets, according to San Diego Police. 

Twelve people in all were displaced: six adults and six kids. 

There is no word on a damage estimate.

The National Weather Service had placed San Diego County on a flash flood watch through Saturday night, and coastal flooding warnings continued until Sunday morning. 

Gov. Jerry Brown on Saturday signed legislation to assist drought-affected communities and provide funding to better use local water supplies.

“Legislators across the aisle have now voted to help hard-pressed communities that face water shortages,” Brown said. “This legislation marks a crucial step – but Californians must continue to take every action possible to conserve water.”

The legislation had broad bipartisan support. SB 103 and 104 provide $687.4 million to support drought relief, including money for housing and food for workers directly impacted by the drought, bond funds for projects to help local communities more efficiently capture and manage water and funding for securing emergency drinking water supplies for drought-impacted communities.

The legislation also increases funding for state and local conservation corps to assist communities with efficiency upgrades and reduce fire fuels in fire risk areas, and includes $1 million for the Save Our Water public awareness campaign – which will enhance its mission to inform Californians how they can do their part to conserve water.

• READ: More than 1/4 of Calif. in "Exceptional Drought"

“Like the rain this weekend, this package is badly needed to help mitigate the effects of the historic drought California is facing. But also like the rain, we need to see more,” said Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez. “That’s why every Californian needs to continue to conserve water, and there’s more work to do on storage, water quality improvement and environmental protections. If we don’t act now, the problems we face will only get worse.”

For more information on the drought legislation, click here.

San Diego homicide detectives launched an investigation into the death of a man in the Webster area Saturday morning after the victim was shot and found lying on a sidewalk with fatal injuries to his head.

SDPD Lt. Mike Hastings said officers were called to 47th Street and Federal Boulevard at around 6:30 a.m.

When cops arrived, they found a man in his 20s lying on the sidewalk. He was pronounced dead at after he was struck by gunfire, according to police.

A preliminary investigation revealed that a fight broke out early Saturday morning near where the man was found. 

Witnesses said they heard at least one or two gunshots in the area early Saturday morning, and two men were seen leaving the area in a grey, four-door car.

Witness Abraham Ortiz is the stocking manager at Great Western Building Materials in the 4500-block of Federal Boulevard. He told NBC 7 he saw the victim’s body on the street Saturday morning, as well as police officers.

He told police that his building maintains surveillance cameras around the area and offered the footage to investigators.

Ortiz said he was shaken up by the victim’s death, describing it as something straight out of a crime show.

"It's scary -- I only see this on TV -- never in person," said Ortiz. "This guy, somebody killed him, he's been shot or something."

Ortiz said there’s a nightclub near the scene that often holds parties, so perhaps the victim was coming from there when he was injured.

The homicide remains under investigation. Police have not yet released the victim’s name or a suspect description. Hastings said investigators are still working to determine whether or not the slaying is gang-related.

The second wave of a powerful winter storm moved ashore in San Diego Saturday, bringing with it high surf and strong winds.

San Diego lifeguards closed the Ocean Beach Pier, starting at 5:30 p.m. Lifeguard Marine Safety Lt. John Sandmeyer said concerns over high surf, high tides and high swells factored into the decision. 

A coastal flood warning was in effect through Sunday morning for residents and businesses along the shore.

High surf left at least two beachgoers stranded on Sunset Cliffs Saturday afternoon. Both had to be rescued by San Diego Fire and Rescue crews.

Lifeguards had to perform additional rescues of 11 surfers who could not make it back to shore in the La Jolla Coves area.

And as the rain continued to fall, traffic became more and more impacted.

Around 5:42 p.m., California Highway Patrol closed Fashion Valley Road due to flooding.

In the North County, an overturned water truck forced CHP to issue a Sig Alert at 5:45 p.m. for the westbound State Route 56 between Rice Canyon and Pala Mission roads. 

Officers said they've gotten reports of water two feet high in the southbound lanes of Interstate 5 in Oceanside.

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On the opposite side of the county, the Deparment of Enviornmental Health extended its water contact closure of the Silver Strand and Coronado, as well as the Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Refuge shoreline.

The rain has pushed sewage-contaminated runoff from the Tijuana River into the ocean along those areas. 

Officials will keep warning signs up to prevent people from going in the water from the refuge to the Silver Strand until tests show the ocean water is safe again.

• Watch: Rain Bears Down on North County

During the first day of thunderstorms -- Friday -- heavy rain and strong winds caused damage in some sections of the county.

In Chula Vista, a 100-foot eucalyptus tree toppled in the wind and crashed down on two townhomes Friday night. Fortunately, the residents were not home at the time when the 40-year-old tree fell. SDG&E cut off the power and maintenance crews secured the structure for the night.

In Scripps Ranch, more than forty workers couldn’t leave work Friday after a eucalyptus tree crashed down in the parking lot, blocking in their cars. Witnesses said the tree was about six or seven stories tall and destroyed a fence at the storage facility. No one was injured.

On Palomar Mountain, workers had to clear rocks and mud from a small slide that temporarily closed both lanes of South Grade Road. According to a rain gauge at the Palomar Observatory, the mountain received more than seven inches of rain in the first hours of the storm.

• Watch: Storm Causes Flooding in South Bay

In the Tijuana River Valley, rising water forced city crews to close roads. Several powerlines were down in the area.

One farmer, blocked by rising water along Monument Road, was concerned about some horses waiting to be fed. Even though his morning work was delayed, the man told NBC 7 he was grateful to see the rain in the middle of a drought emergency in the state.

In Otay Mesa, residents also dealt with their share of the storm. A major truck crossing at the intersection of La Media Road and Airway Road flooded up to three feet in some areas. Fortunately, there were no accidents there to report.

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Rainfall totals in parts of California were impressive, especially in areas that typically don't receive much, but not nearly enough to offer long-term relief from a long-running drought.

Forecasters said such systems would have to become common for the state to make serious inroads against the drought.

The National Weather Service has also put San Diego County on a high surf advisory until Monday morning and a flash flood watch until late Saturday.

Keep checking back for updates as the storm shakes out around the county.

Gov. Jerry Brown on Saturday signed legislation to assist drought-affected communities and provide funding to better use local water supplies.

“Legislators across the aisle have now voted to help hard-pressed communities that face water shortages,” Brown said. “This legislation marks a crucial step – but Californians must continue to take every action possible to conserve water.”

The legislation had broad bipartisan support. SB 103 and 104 provide $687.4 million to support drought relief, including money for housing and food for workers directly impacted by the drought, bond funds for projects to help local communities more efficiently capture and manage water and funding for securing emergency drinking water supplies for drought-impacted communities.

The legislation also increases funding for state and local conservation corps to assist communities with efficiency upgrades and reduce fire fuels in fire risk areas, and includes $1 million for the Save Our Water public awareness campaign – which will enhance its mission to inform Californians how they can do their part to conserve water.

• READ: More than 1/4 of Calif. in "Exceptional Drought"

“Like the rain this weekend, this package is badly needed to help mitigate the effects of the historic drought California is facing. But also like the rain, we need to see more,” said Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez. “That’s why every Californian needs to continue to conserve water, and there’s more work to do on storage, water quality improvement and environmental protections. If we don’t act now, the problems we face will only get worse.”

For more information on the drought legislation, click here.

San Diego lifeguards said they’ve found the body of a man who was reported missing Saturday night when his fishing kayak was found empty in Ramona.

Deputies started searching the area around the Lake Sutherland Dam when the kayak was spotted floating upside down.

Employees recognized it and told deputies it belonged to a 57-year-old man who frequently fishes on the lake.

Sheriff’s officials called out their search and rescue teams and the agency’s helicopters to help look for the missing fisherman along the shoreline.

When that turned up nothing, they deployed boats onto the lake, but bad weather and poor diving conditions forced them to suspend the search Saturday night.

On Sunday around 9:30 a.m., the search and rescue’s divers found the man’s body in 16 feet of water.

According to lifeguards, it could take a couple hours before the body is brought to shore. 

A Brooklyn toddler is in critical condition after authorities say his mother nearly beat him to death with a bamboo stick.

Police say 27-year-old Yayun Weng brought her 2-year-old son to a hospital Thursday, claiming he fell out of bed.

When doctors saw the child's injuries they immediately called police. Investigators say the boy had bruises over 90 percent of his body.

Weng was charged with assault, endangering the welfare of a child, menacing and criminal possession of a weapon. She was arraigned Saturday.

Information on an attorney for Weng was not immediately available.

California Gov. Jerry Brown, who just announced he's running for a fourth term, said on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday that he is not sure that legalizing pot in his state is a good idea because it could affect the state and country negatively.

Gov. Jerry Brown Announces Plans to Seek Re-Election

When "Meet the Press" host David Gregory asked Brown whether it was time to legalize recreational marijuana in America's biggest state, Brown said that he would like Washington and Colorado -- the two states that have legalized recreational marijuana -- to "show us how it's going to work."

"The problem with anything -- a certain amount is OK, but there is a tendency to go to extremes," Brown said. "And all of a sudden if there's advertising and legitimacy, how many people can get stoned and still have a great state or a great nation? The world's pretty dangerous, very competitive. I think we need to stay alert, if not 24 hours a day, more than some of the potheads might be able to put together."

"As a TV guy I know I have a good sound bite when I hear one," Gregory responded, laughing.

Brown said that California has medical marijuana, "which gets very close to what they have in Colorado and Washington."

California legalized medical marijuana use in 1996.

But pot advocates are confident recreational use will eventually be legal here, regardless of what the governor says.

"I think he’s being the political animal he is… trying to slow things down… even though the ball is already rolling," Scott McGlashan of San Francisco said.

Opponents argue that pot is a gateway drug to other more-dangerous street drugs. But pot advocates say that is not true and point out that marijuana is less dangerous and destructive than alcohol

There are voter initiatives in the works in three other states aimed at legalizing the recreational use of pot, but for now, California is not one of them.

A December 2013 Field Poll shows that 55 percent of California's favor marijuana legalization, compared to a 1969 Field Poll, when 75 percent of Californians wanted either strict enforcement of marijuana laws against its use or passing even tougher laws, while only 13 percent favored its legalization.

• Reality Check: Marijuana Safer Than Alcohol? Fact-Checking President's Claim

Viktor Kee is embarking on a road trip across America to save Ukraine.

A circus artist and juggler touring with Cirque du Soleil, Kee is an American citizen who emigrated in the 1990s from Ukraine.

• Kerry Travels to Ukraine as World Calls for Calm in Crimea

As Cirque du Soleil's Amaluna show winds up in San Jose Saturday, Kee will embark on a two- week "Help Ukraine" cross-country trip to raise awareness about the situation in his former home.

“Ukraine is experiencing a big turmoil at this very moment." Kee said. "It is the worst level of civil unrest since the fall of communism ... The people of Ukraine seek freedom. Freedom to choose, freedom from corruption, freedom to elect people to represent their government. While the politics surrounding the protests are important, it is the people and their families that interest me."

Kee said he knows how lucky he is to live and work in America, where there is democracy and freedom. And he wants the same rights for his family and friends who still live in Ukraine.

"I made my career here, and I’d love my people to have the same opportunity," Kee said. "And it’s just heartbreaking to see what is going to happen, and I can’t even comprehend, and I don’t even want to think what could happen. I don’t want to go there."

Kee told NBC Bay Area that it was heartbreaking to watch the events back home.

“My mum is in Russia, my brother is in Ukraine – everything is tied together among the two countries," he said. “It’s a very bad situation right now."

Kee hopes that his tour will help raise money to help the families of the victims and the children who lost their parents during this time of unrest.

His promise: "All proceeds will personally be sent to the families in need."

• Bay Area Ukrainians Urge U.S., World to Intervene With Russia

"I am not a company or big organization, I’m just an artist that wants to take a step forward by raising awareness for the people of Ukraine," Kee says on his website.

Kee's first stop will be San Francisco on March 2, followed by Los Angeles on March 4.

He plans to make stops in Las Vegas, Phoenix, Austin (he's going to be at SXSW), Houston, New Orleans, Atlanta, Washington DC and New York.

His two companions for the road trip? His 2003 Porsche 911 4S decked out in the colors of the Ukrainian flag and a friend who works at a TV station in Kiev.

Kee described his car as a “symbol" of his project.

Kee hopes to collect signatures of the people he meets on his road trip on an Ukrainian flag and then present it at the main square in Kiev.

For more information on Viktor Kee's Help Ukraine Project, click here.

NBC Bay Area's Shawn Murphy contributed to this report.

It was a wedding 53 years in the making. Jack Evans and George Harris made their relationship official in the eyes of at least one church.

"The marriage of George and Jack is a sign of God's love and their love for each other and our love for one another," said Rev. Bill McElvaney, the minister officiating the marriage.

Hundreds of people witnessed the ceremony.

"In the name of God, I take you George to be my married life partner," said Evans as the couple exchanged vows. "In the name of God I, George take you Jack to be my married life partner," Harris followed.

And for at least one minister it was a call to change.

"It's sufficient to say George and Jack are offering a gift, an invitation and a challenge to the United Methodist Church to become... a fully inclusive church," said Rev. McElvaney. "And we thank them for that."

For now, the marriage will only stand in this church.

Last week, federal judge Orlando Garcia declared a same-sex marriage ban in Texas unconstitutional, but will allow the nation's second-most populous state to enforce the law pending an appeal that will likely go to the U.S. Supreme Court.

 California Gov. Jerry Brown, who just announced he's running for a fourth term, said on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday that he is not sure that legalizing pot in his state is a good idea because it could affect the state and country negatively.

When "Meet the Press" host David Gregory asked Brown whether it was time to legalize recreational marijuana in America's biggest state, Brown said that he would like Washington and Colorado -- the two states that have legalized recreational marijuana -- to "show us how it's going to work."

"The problem with anything -- a certain amount is OK, but there is a tendency to go to extremes," Brown said. "And all of a sudden if there's advertising and legitimacy, how many people can get stoned and still have a great state or a great nation? The world's pretty dangerous, very competitive. I think we need to stay alert, if not 24 hours a day, more than some of the potheads might be able to put together."

"As a TV guy I know I have a good sound bite when I hear one," Gregory responded, laughing.

Brown said that California has medical marijuana, "which gets very close to what they have in Colorado and Washington."

• READ: Gov. Jerry Brown Announces Plans to Seek Re-Election

California legalized medical marijuana use in 1996.

A December 2013 Field Poll shows that 55 percent of California's favor marijuana legalization, compared to a 1969 Field Poll, when 75 percent of Californians wanted either strict enforcement of marijuana laws against its use or passing even tougher laws, while only 13 percent favored its legalization.

Embattled California State Sen. Ron Calderon on Sunday announced he will take a voluntary leave of absence from legislative duties nearly a week after pleading not guilty to federal corruption and bribery charges.

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Calderon, D-Montebello, was charged in a 24-count indictment with mail fraud, wire fraud, honest services fraud, bribery, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and money laundering and aiding in the filing of false tax returns.

• Calif. Sen. Calderon Pleads Not Guilty

"This is not a resignation since I still have my day in court," Calderon said in a statement released Sunday. "However, due to the nature and complexity of the charges, and the discovery materials that I will have to review, I expect this to be a lengthy period of absence continuing until the end of the session in August."

Sen. President pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, accepted Calderon's request to take an indefinite leave of absence Sunday night.

• Sen. Ron Calderon Accused of Accepting $100K in Cash Bribes

Prosecutors said he accepted $28,000 in bribes from Michael D. Drobot, former owner of the now-closed Pacific Hospital of Long Beach, in exchange for supporting legislation that “delay or limit changes in California’s workers’ compensation laws relating to the amount of medical care providers are reimbursed for performing spinal surgeries.”

Calderon is also accused of paying his daughter $39,000 for a bogus office job and paying around $30,000 for his son’s schooling.

The 56-year-old legislator pleaded not guilty in an arraignment Feb. 24.

Police are investigating an attempted sexual assault in San Diego involving a suspect dressed up as a Barbie doll.

On Friday around 5 p.m., a woman walked into the women's restroom at a Big Lots store in Clairemont. 

When she entered a stall, a man climbed under the door after her, grabbed her and tried to sexually assault her, police said. 

Investigators confirmed the suspect was wearing a Barbie costume. 

The victim fought back, managing to escape and run to a store employee. The suspect ran out soon after, only to be confronted by a security guard. 

Police said the suspect threatened the guard with what appeared to be a screwdriver and ran out of the store. 

The man suspected of the crime, 40-year-old Gregory Schwartz, was arrested Sunday around 3:40 p.m. near Clairemont Mesa Blvd. and Diane Ave. 

If you have any information about the incident, police ask that you call 619-531-2210. 

The third day of strong winds and rain hit San Diego Sunday as officials extended closures up and down the coast.

The Ocean Beach Pier was damaged by the high surf and is closed until further notice, according to San Diego lifeguards. The pier has been closed since Saturday evening.

At last report, the waves reached up to 15 feet at Ocean Beach.

In La Jolla, the west wall of the Children’s Pool was also closed Sunday as a safety precaution.

• Get Forecast by Zip Code

A high surf advisory remains in effect until 4 a.m. Monday, but the county’s coastal flood warning has been canceled.

According to NBC 7 Meteorologist Greg Bledsoe, the rain is on its way out.

“Still a chance for some light, scattered showers around the county for part of Sunday, but for the most part, we’re looking at mostly cloudy skies to finish your weekend,” Bledsoe said.

Officials in the South County were just as worried about a big health hazarad as the high waves.

"The rule is whenever there's a storm, don't go out in the water," said Coronado Cays resident Jeff Couture.

From the Tijuana Estuary to the Silver Strand and Coronado, health workers posted warning signs to keep people out of the water due to a sewage-contaminated runoff from the Tijuana River.

Scott Beall, who also lives in Coronado Cays, said it's not just trash scattered in the sand that disturbs him; it's what's left lingering in the air.

"It's really polluted. You can smell, like, the detergent smell in the air, kind of stings your eyes," said Beall

In its first two days, the storm wreaked havoc across the county. 

Three families were displaced from their homes in San Carlos due to flooding Saturday. They reported the waters reached up to their electrical outlets. 

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The California Highway Patrol said there were 313 collisions along San Diego freeways on Saturday, following Friday's 514 crashes. To put that in perspective, the CHP usually responds to between 50 and 75 crashes on a "good weather" day.

In Chula Vista Friday, winds pushed a 100-foot eucalyptus tree onto two townhomes Friday, leaving residents with nothing but a tarp between them and the weather outside. 

Long Island police say they made two separate arrests on Sunday of parents who left their children unattended in cars.

Marcela Monaco was arrested in Huntington for leaving her 4-year-old son alone in a car while she went shopping. Witnesses said the child was left for 20 minutes inside a car that was not running while the temperature was 37 degrees. 

Monaco was charged with one count of endangering the welfare of a child.

Police say another couple was arrested in Patchogue after they allegedly left their three young children in a running, unlocked car for 20 minutes while they went shopping.

Witnesses said the three children -- a 6-month-old baby, a 5-year-old and an 8-year-old -- were left in the car for about an hour.

Donald Hayes and Sarah Hayes were arrested and charged with three counts of endangering the welfare of a child.

It wasn't immediately clear whether any of the parents had attorneys.

A mother has been accused of hindering an investigation after police say she tried to keep detectives from finding the person who sexually assaulted her 11-year-old daughter.

The mother, formerly of Massapequa but now living in Covington, Ga., is accused of refusing to cooperate with Nassau County Special Victims Unit investigators looking into claims that her daughter was sexually assaulted.

Police began their investigation after learning about the alleged assault from a state agency in 2013. While investigating, police say that the mother refused to give detectives information needed to find out who was responsible.

The mother also refused to bring the daughter to police so they could get a DNA sample; when she did go to police, investigators say she brought a different child for testing. Afterward, police say the mother went to Georgia and continued to duck police inquiries.

Police say they eventually connected the woman's husband at the time to the alleged assault. Police say she refused to tell investigators where the 30-year-old was while continuing to allow him to have access to the girl.

Authorities tracked down the 30-year-old in West Palm Beach, Fla., where he was arrested by U.S. Marshals. He was arrested and brought to Nassau County, where he faces predatory sexual assault of a child and first-degree rape charges.

The mother was arrested at her home in Covington and will be arraigned Monday in Mineola for hindering a prosecution.

The daughter has been placed in the care of relatives out of state.

Dallas police say a 9-year-old girl is in critical condition after a shooting on Saturday morning. The girl was taken to Children's Medical Center Dallas.

Officers took her 20-year-old neighbor into custody because he was target practicing in the yard next door. One bullet shattered a kitchen window at a home in the 400 block of West Yarmouth Street and struck the girl.

Dallas Police arrested Cristian Manzano. He is charged with a second degree felony: injury to a child-serious bodily injury. He is also charged with a misdemeanor: discharging in municipality greater than 100,000 residents.

On Saturday night, he remained booked at the Lew Sterrett Jail in Dallas.

A 5-month-old kitten found in freezing SoCal temperatures last month may not have survived if it wasn’t for an unlikely guardian: a longhaired Chihuahua.

Now, the inseparable mother-son pair is readying for adoption and is expected to be introduced to the public at a Mardi Gras-themed dog parade on Tuesday, March 4.

• The Time Is Meow: Cat Café May Purr in LA

The chihuahua and kitten, named Beignet and Gumbo, were found when a Barstow resident living next to a vacant home heard what sounded like an abandoned dog and puppy outside. As temperatures reached 20 degrees outside, the good Samaritan checked on the dogs and found something unusual -- there was no puppy. Instead, Beignet was found nursing Gumbo, a small kitten.

The pair was taken to the Helen Woodward Animal Center where they have since been recovering.

“This incredible little family really demonstrates the pure hearts of the orphan animals we meet each day,” the center’s inventory manager Labeth Thompson said. “They needed each other and they were there for each other.”

• Dogs Feel No Shame Despite Guilty Look

Tuesday’s event is scheduled for 11 a.m. and prospective pet owners can call 858-756-4117 ext. 1 for more information. Beignet and Gumbo will be kept together together, center officials said

“They love each other,” Thompson said. “That’s all there is to it. It’s not complicated.”

 With California in the grips of drought, farmers throughout the state are using a mysterious and some say foolhardy tool for locating underground water: dowsers, or water witches.

Practitioners of dowsing use rudimentary tools - usually copper sticks or wooden "divining rods" that resemble large wishbones - and what they describe as a natural energy to find water or minerals hidden deep underground.

While both state and federal water scientists disapprove of dowsing, California "witchers" are busy as farmers seek to drill more groundwater wells due to the state's record drought that persists despite recent rain.

The nation's fourth-largest wine maker, Bronco Wine Co., says it uses dowsers on its 40,000 acres of California vineyards, and dozens of smaller farmers and homeowners looking for wells on their property also pay for dowsers. Nationwide, the American Society of Dowsers, Inc. boasts dozens of local chapters, which meet annually at a conference.

"It's kind of bizarre. Scientists don't believe in it, but I do and most of the farmers in the Valley do," said Marc Mondavi, a vineyard owner whose family has been growing grapes and making wine since the mid-20th century in the Napa Valley.

• READ: Gov. Signs $687M Drought Legislation

Mondavi doesn't just believe in dowsing, he practices it.

On a recent afternoon, standing in this family's Charles Krug vineyard holding two copper divining rods, Mondavi walked slowly forward through the dormant vines.

After about 40 feet, the rods quickly crossed and Mondavi - a popular dowser in the world famous wine region- stopped. "This is the edge of our underground stream," he said during the demonstration. Mondavi said he was introduced to "witching" by the father of an old girlfriend, and realized he had a proclivity for the practice.

After the valley's most popular dowser died in recent years, Mondavi has become the go-to water witch in Napa Valley. He charges about $500 per site visit, and more, if a well he discovers ends up pumping more than 50 gallons per minute.

With more farmers relying on groundwater to irrigate crops, Mondavi's phone has been ringing often as growers worry about extended years of dryness.

He had six witching jobs lined up over a recent weekend, three homes whose springs were running dry and three vineyards. It's so popular that he's even created a line of wines called "The Divining Rod" that will be sold nationwide this year.

While popular, scientists say dowsers are often just lucky, looking for water in places where it's already known to likely exist.

"There's no scientific basis to dowsing. If you want to go to a palm reader or a mentalist, then you're the same person who's going to go out and hire a dowser," said Tom Ballard, a hydrogeologist with Taber Consultants, a geological engineering firm based in West Sacramento.

"The success is really an illusion. In most places you're going to be able to drill and find some water," he said.

Still, the consistent interest in water witches nationwide even spurred The U.S. Geological Survey to officially weigh in on the fairly harmless practice.

Dowsing has not held up well under scientific scrutiny, the USGS said, adding that dowsers are often successful in areas where groundwater is abundant.

"The natural explanation of `successful' water dowsing is that in many areas water would be hard to miss. The dowser commonly implies that the spot indicated by the rod is the only one where water could be found, but this is not necessarily true," the survey said in its report.

Christopher Bonds, senior engineering geologist for the state Department of Water Resources, said his agency does not advocate using witchers.

"DWR is an advocate for having qualified and licensed water professionals locate groundwater resources using established scientific methods," Bonds said in an email.

Don't tell that to John Franzia, co-owner of Bronco Wine Co., the nation's fourth-largest wine producer based on sales. It makes wine under hundreds of labels, including the famous "Two Buck Chuck."

Bronco also owns more vineyard land in California than anyone else, and when it needs a new well there's a good chance a dowser will be employed.

Franzia said the company uses many technologies to find water on its 40,000-acres, but turns to dowsers often and with great success.

"I've used witchers for probably the last 15-to-20 years," Franzia said. "Seems like the witchers do the better job than the guys with all the electrical equipment. I believe in them."

---

Associated Press reporter Terence Chea contributed to this report.

A man was found dead inside an auto parts shop in Vista Sunday afternoon, according to sheriff’s officials.

Detectives are now investigating if the death is linked to high-profile murders in Libby Lake Park last year.

The body was found around 12:30 p.m. inside SBAJ Transmission, located at 1219 North Santa Fe Avenue.

According to officials, the victim's wife became worried when her husband didn't come home Saturday night. She went to his business the next day and discovered his body.

Officials have identified the deceased as Ruben Bodden, 59. He had suffered traumatic injuries.

The Better Business Bureau website lists Bodden as the owner of SBAJ Transmission.

Officials have not released a cause of death, but described the death as “suspicious.”

“As the night goes on, we’ll be getting a warrant and going in the business and taking a closer look at what we have inside,” said Lt. Glenn Giannantonio with the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department. “For now, we don’t know if this is a homicide. For now, it is a traumatic death, but we don’t know exactly how the death happened.”

People who knew the victim told NBC 7 that he had at least two children. One of them is Brian Bodden. A person by the name of Brian Bodden is charged in the ambush killings of two teens in Libby Lake Park last year.

Four teenagers were gunned down at the Oceanside park on March 13, 2013. Edgar Sanchez Rios, 16, and Melanie Virgen, 13, died from their injuries.

Detectives will investigate to see if there is a connection.

On Sunday night, family and friends lit candles in memory of Ruben Bodden.

"Feel sorry for their families," neighbor Ramiro Roman said. "It's kind of scary for the rest of the families that live around here also."

"It shows that nobody is safe out here no matter how old you are," said Chris Smith, a friend of the victim.

Anyone with information on this case is asked to call the sheriff's department at 858-974-2321 or Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.

Check back for updates on this developing story.