Rio the whale draws crowds as experts monitor its journey in the Delta

We start tonight with the whale in the Delta. Yes, the Marine Mammal Center says they were tracking a humpback whale that was seen near Richmond on Monday. Then the whale was spotted in the Sacramento River near the Rio Vista Bridge on Wednesday of this week. That's about 60 miles from the ocean. The whale is now being called Rio. ABC 10's Gabriel Porras is live tonight, where else? In Rio Vista tonight. So Gabriel, what's the latest? I know you've been trying to see if you could spot Rio. Any luck? Oh yeah, all day, Chris. And the short answer is no. But I'm standing in a very special place right now. This is the permanent monument for Humphrey, the whale that visited this Rio Vista area, the Sacramento River area, back in the 80s. I'm hoping maybe by being here we'll bring some good luck. Maybe Rio will feel a little bit more comfortable because you've got to imagine it's a lot of nerves for him with so many people watching so closely. In Rio Vista, a walk along the river Friday became a whale-watching expedition. Something like that is exactly what Katie Lee is here to see. We came up from Concord because we heard about the whale last night on TV and we're like, we have to see this thing. The humpback whale Rio, according to the Marine Mammal Center, first spotted entering the San Francisco Bay on Tuesday. By Wednesday and Thursday, the whale's journey reached Rio Vista, the waters of the Sacramento River. And ever since then... Every single person that walks by talks about it. As Paul Pena fishes for a catch, everyone around him has been fishing for a glimpse. Including us, we spent all day Friday watching, waiting, and wondering if Rio was just a little camera shy. It was about midway, maybe closer this way a little bit, but midway. And yeah, it was kind of neat. When no cameras were around earlier this week, Kathy Carvalho says a block away from City Hall, Rio surfaced. We were like looking at the water and there was like something big in the water. And somebody goes, oh, maybe it's a sea lion. But we figured now it was the whale. It was a little too big for being a sea lion. Kathy now has her tale to tell, but for everyone else... Oh, got away. Rio is still the one that got away, at least so far. Hopefully it pops up. Hopefully people see it or something. I heard it was in Benicia, so we're tracking it. We're following it along the Delta. Who knows? I hope to find it. I know what everyone's probably thinking. It's hard to imagine why any whale would trade the vast Pacific Ocean for this half-mile-wide stretch of the Sacramento River. The Marine Mammal Center says they don't know yet whether Rio was just passing through the area or if he has an underlying health issue. They are now monitoring the situation closely, as we all are here along the river. Live in Rio Vista, Gabriel Porras, ABC 10. And don't forget, the Marine Mammal Center says if you do see Rio while in the water, avoid changing its course and stay back at least 100 yards. Gabriel, we thank you for the live update.