Two drownings reported in north Clark County

Two people apparently drowned Tuesday afternoon on tributaries of the Lewis River in north Clark County about 20 miles apart from each other.

Both incidents were reported to 911 around 4:15 p.m. According to emergency radio traffic, a man reportedly jumped into the East Fork of the Lewis River and did not surface at Moulton Falls Park near Yacolt.

Around the same time, a boater reported a body in the North Fork of the Lewis River in Woodland.

Emergency crews responding to Moulton Falls Park recovered the body of a 45-year-old man that was submerged in a 10-foot-deep part of the East Fork, according to a Clark County Sheriff’s Office news release. Witnesses reported seeing a man jump from the rocks at Moulton Falls into the swirling water below, and when he didn’t come back up, witnesses called 911.

The man’s body was sent to the medical examiner. The man’s name was not released Tuesday.

In a separate incident, a fire engine and a rescue boat with Clark County Fire & Rescue went to the scene of a reported drowning near the Lewis River Golf Course in the Woodland area. Once there, first responders could see a body under the water, said Clark County Fire & Rescue Battalion Chief Tim Dawdy. The Cowlitz County dive team and Fire District 6’s technical rescue team were called in to recover the body.

The body of a man was found midstream on the bottom of the river, which is about 8 to 10 feet deep in that spot, according to the sheriff’s office. The man, whose identity was not released, was not wearing a life jacket, the agency said. His body was turned over to the medical examiner, who will perform an autopsy.

“We don’t know how long that body has been there,” Dawdy said.

An unoccupied small fishing boat was found amid some debris just upstream from where the man was recovered. Police say he’s associated with the boat.

The Clark County Sheriff’s Office is investigating both incidents.

With temperatures in the high 90s and many families out swimming, Tuesday was a busy day on Clark County waterways, Dawdy said.

“The water is still very cold,” he said.