Accident Database

Report ID# 116308

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Accident Description

A man drowned in the Wenatchee River on Saturday after his inner tube flipped, according to the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office. The 60-year-old Walla Walla man was not wearing a life jacket.

According to the sheriff’s office, a small group of friends and family were floating on the Wenatchee River near Dryden when they neared an area of rapids known as “Rock and Roll.”

In the rapids, the man’s inner tube flipped and he struggled to get to shore. When the party ran into a second set of rapids, they became separated. ne of the man’s relatives spotted him floating face down in the water, where he was dragged ashore.

A commercial raft floated by and assisted in ferrying the man to medics on the opposite shore. After an hour of CPR, the man was declared dead.

According to deputies, the group was not wearing life jackets and was not familiar with the river.

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