PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A man fishing on the Santiam River drowned Saturday after he and another fisherman fell from a 15-foot aluminum boat.
Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputies were dispatched to the area of where the Santiam and Willamette Rivers converge around 2 p.m after one of the men from the boat made a call to 911. He told dispatchers he made it to shore safely but his partner was unaccounted for.
Before emergency crews arrived, a kayaker located the missing fisherman and brought him to shore. Neither the kayaker nor emergency crews were able to resuscitate the man. He was eventually taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The victim was identified as Gary Schweitzer of Clackamas. Deputies said neither Schweitzer, 64, nor the other man were wearing life jackets at the time of falling off the boat.
MCSO said no one else involved in the incident was injured.
