<img height="1" width="1" style="display:none" src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=192888919167017&amp;ev=PageView&amp;noscript=1">
Friday, March 29, 2024
March 29, 2024

Linkedin Pinterest

Vancouver woman missing after float incident on Willamette River

By Mark Bowder, Columbian Metro Editor
Published: September 1, 2019, 10:08am

A Vancouver woman is missing after falling into the Willamette River after her float tube snagged on a root ball on the Willamette River near Buena Vista Park south of Independence, Ore., on Saturday. Search operations were called off shortly before 5 p.m. today.

The Polk County, Ore., Sheriff’s Office said Tracy Allen, 37, was floating the river with friends on Saturday afternoon when their series of interconnected float tubes ran into a large root ball snag just off the west shore of Wells Island.

At 4:59 p.m. Sunday, the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office Water Rescue Team pulled their divers from the water and ended their search due to hazardous conditions. According to a release from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, team leader Sgt. Marc Griffith advised that it was too high risk to justify further searching. All search and recovery operations have been suspended until further notice.

In addition to fast-moving water, debris from trees and roots littered the area, making it hard for divers to navigate the area.

Efforts to determine any other possible options will be made in the coming days by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, and if any other options appear, the department will reevaluate the suspension of recovery operations.

Earlier in the day, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office switched from a search and rescue operation to a recovery one, sending divers from two boats to the area where Allen was last seen. While Allen was wearing a life vest at the time she went into the water, “the heavy current flowing into and around a large debris field made up of trees and roots was substantial enough to hold her under water, particularly if snagged,” the release said.

Two women floating with Allen were able to get to shallow water and make it to the island, but Allen was not seen again after going into the water. Two other women who had separated from the series of float tubes were able to avoid the snag, according to the sheriff’s office.

An extensive search of the area by multiple agencies using boats, a drone, side-scan radar and ground search teams were unable to locate Allen. The search was also aided by a REACH Air Medical Services helicopter but was called off at nightfall, the sheriff’s office reported.

Loading...
Columbian Metro Editor