Man drowns while rafting on Wenatchee River
Officials urge caution on water as temps near 80 expected this weekend
It may feel like a summer day, but waters are still winter-cold, and hypothermia can set in quickly.
WENATCHEE, Wash. - A man has drowned after his raft overturned in the heavily-flowing Wenatchee River on Thursday.
The Chelan County Sheriff's Office responded to an area on the Wenatchee River, near Dryden, just after 4 p.m. for reports of people in the water and a man in distress.
Witnesses told police that seven people were in a raft that flipped over near Shark's Tooth and they became separated from each other and the raft. Four people were seen floating downstream and the man with them was "not doing very well."
They located a group of people on the shore attempting to give the unresponsive man CPR. Emergency crews took over, but the man was pronounced dead at the scene.
The others in the group were all accounted for.
The water flow in the Wenatchee River is at or near record levels, according to the Chelan County Sheriff's Office. Deputies remind people to recreate safely and always wear a life jacket.
The rivers are expected to be extremely dangerous throughout the next several days, the sheriff's office said.