Driver was rescued after the vehicle was removed from the cliff
Firefighters used rope rescue systems to pull the driver out safely after the car was 100 feet away from an Oregon cliff.
Authorities say search and rescue operations entered the third day on July 21, making him the second confirmed death in a fatal waterfall accident in central Oregon.
The diver with a Deschute County Sheriff’s Office search and rescue team found and recovered the body of the second victim shortly after 11am local time on July 21, the sheriff’s office said in a statement. The agency reported that the victim was found under Dillon Falls on the Deschutes River.
The accident occurred when a group of six swept Dillon Falls, a rapid on the Deschutes River about 10 miles southwest of Bend. The Sheriff’s Office said it had immediately started search and rescue operations after receiving the incident report around 2:57pm local time.
According to the sheriff’s office, one person died at the scene, while the other three were rescued from the river and taken to a hospital in Bend by ambulance. On July 21, the sheriff’s office confirmed that the two killed in the incident were women and the person who remained missing was a man.
“The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office expresses the deepest sadness of the affected families and is committed to using up all possibilities in the ongoing search efforts,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
The Sheriff’s Office has not announced the identities of those involved in the accident and is noting that an investigation is underway. Other law enforcement agencies also support search and rescue operations, including Bend Police, Bend Fires and Rescue, and Airlink Critical Care Transport, which provides emergency aviation medical transport.
Search and Rescue crews used boats, drones, Swift Water Rescue teams and K-9 units to search, map, refine, refine and refine locations of high-enhanced potential along the river corridor between Dillon Falls Day usage areas and Aspend Day usage areas above the waterfall, according to Sheriff’s office.
Dillon Falls is known for being a powerful and dangerous rapid
Dillon Falls, located within the Deschutes National Forest, is a series of “quick drop rapids” along the Deschutes River, according to the Central Oregon Tourist Information Center. The 15-foot waterfall is known for being a dangerous Class V Rapid, reported Salem Statesman Journal, part of the USA Today Network.
According to Nishikawa’s expedition, the river is rated on a “class scale” and determines the size and speciality of the whitewater.
“(Class V Rapids) have a very difficult route, long, very violent torrents and very crowded. This requires reconnaissance from the coast.” “Rescue conditions are difficult and there is a great risk in the event of an accident. Class V is the limit of what is possible with a commercial raft.”
According to the US Department of Agriculture, Dillon Falls Day’s area is a popular destination for outdoor recreation, including hiking, water activities, picnics and watching waterfalls. The waterfall was also a place of other tragedy of the past few years.
In 2022, a 41-year-old man died while floating above Dillon, reported the Salem Staten Journal. At the time, the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office said it received a report of a 911 call saying, “The man in the tube passed the waterfall 30-35 minutes before the call, and bystanders were unable to find the man.”
In 2018, Bend’s blind athlete and his father lost control of his canoe in the waters above Dillon Falls, resulting in his father’s death, Bend News reported.
Bend is approximately 132 miles southeast of Salem, the capital of Oregon.
Contributed by Zach Urness, Salem Statesman Journal
