The body of a man who jumped into the Columbia River to help a struggling swimmer in late June has been found.
On Monday evening. the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office River Patrol was dispatched to recover a body from the Columbia River near the western end of Hayden Island. The Multnomah County Medical Examiner’s Officer has identified the person recovered as 35-year-old Kevin McDowell.
McDowell was last seen on June 26. Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office River Patrol Unit deputies responded to a report of a missing swimmer near the west end of Lemon Island in the Columbia River. Witnesses reported that McDowell did not resurface after jumping into the water from a boat to help a woman in the water who was struggling to swim. It was reported that he was not wearing a life jacket. The woman was able to get to safety.
In this supplied photo, a Multnomah County Sheriff's Office diver prepares to enter the Columbia River on June 27, 2022. Search and rescue teams were searching for a missing swimmer after he jumped in the river to help a person struggling in the water.
Courtesy of Multnomah County Sheriff's Office
Firefighters from Portland Fire & Rescue and the Port of Portland Fire Department helped deputies perform a series of searches in the days after McDowell presumably drowned. Rescuers reported that challenging conditions, with limited underwater visibility and strong currents, delayed the recovery efforts.
