KITTITAS COUNTY, Wash. — The Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office says a fisherman survived the frigid waters of the Columbia River this weekend after his boat capsized.
It happened on Sunday.
He had a life jacket, an emergency whistle, and a cell phone on board, but he wasn’t wearing or carrying them at the time he fell in.
Deputies say the 35-year-old fell in near Huntzinger Road below Wanapum Dam. His boat capsized when he dropped anchor in a crosscurrent.
“He spent a dangerous period in very cold water before managing to climb on top of the overturned boat and get the attention of someone on shore, who called 911,” the sheriff’s office said.
On-duty deputies trained in marine rescue launched a vessel and traveled about five miles downstream to intercept him as he drifted. They arrived at the same time as a civilian boater, who pulled the man from the water and brought him to shore, where deputies helped him.
The man was cold and shaken, but able to drive himself home.
The sheriff’s office wants the public to remember that warm air does not mean warm water.
“Kittitas County’s rivers and reservoirs remain dangerously cold well into spring,” they said. “Please wear your life jacket and be prepared before you launch.”