A Ridgefield man died after jumping from the Ross Island Bridge into the Willamette River in Portland early Thursday morning.
Portland police officers were sent to the east end of the bridge at 3:09 a.m. after getting a 911 report that a shirtless man was leaning over the railing. A man told officers that his friend, Tyler Fisher, 22, said he wanted to swim across the river, so he took off his shirt and shoes, and jumped off the bridge.
The Multnomah County (Ore.) Sheriff’s Office, the U.S. Coast Guard and Portland Fire & Rescue searched the river. Divers with the sheriff’s office found Fisher’s body late Thursday morning. The river’s temperature was 56 degrees at 3 a.m., according to a monitoring station near the nearby Morrison Bridge.
Alcohol may have been involved in the decision to jump, according to the Portland Police Bureau. The death doesn’t appear to be a suicide attempt or a criminal incident, the agency said.
An Oregon State Medical Examiner’s autopsy will determine the cause of death.
