Portland — A three-day search for two men who failed to return from a trip east of Estacada ended Saturday when rescuers found their bodies inside an SUV submerged in the Collawash River.
On Thursday, a Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue team responded to the Ripplebrook Ranger Station, about 25 miles east of Estacada, to check on the reports of two missing men who hadn’t returned from a trip.
On Friday night, searchers found their red Chevrolet Tahoe in the river. They found a dog on the far bank of the river and rescued him. On Saturday, a team pulled the vehicle from the river. Inside they found the bodies of Kevin Shaver and Chase Villarreal, the Sheriff’s Office reported.
Investigators believe speed was a factor in the event that led the SUV to leave the roadway and plunge into the river, the Sheriff’s Office reported.
