Friday, March 29, 2024

Rivers extremely dangerous, 1 local rafter dies in Dryden area

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Sheriff Mike Morrison reported on Thursday, May 4 at approximately 4:15 p.m. an overturned raft was reported on the Wenatchee River near Dryden. It was reported four subjects were floating downstream separated from the raft.

At the same time a separate report was made that CPR was in progress for a male who had flipped out of a raft. Chelan County Sheriff’s Office Deputies, Fire Personnel from Chelan County Fire Districts 6 and 3, and ambulance crews from Cascade Medical Center responded to the scene.

It was determined both incidents were related. A raft with seven occupants had overturned near Shark’s Tooth, a location on the Wenatchee River near Dryden. Some of the occupants noticed one, a 46-year-old Cashmere man, Robert M. “Mike” Spurrel was not doing well, they swam him to shore and he was not responsive. They began performing CPR on him on the shore.

When fire and medic crews arrived at approximately 4:25 p.m., they continued CPR until 5:18 p.m. when he was pronounced dead.

The other rescuers were stationed along the river in several locations until it was confirmed the remainder of the raft occupants made it out of the water, all in the Dryden area. The water flow in the Wenatchee River is at or near record levels. The Sheriff’s Office is reminding the public to use caution when near any rivers and always use a personal flotation device. The rivers are expected to be extremely dangerous throughout the next several days.

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