Men lose kayaks on river and end up stranded on separate islands, Oregon sheriff says
Two men were rescued after losing their kayaks on an Oregon river, a sheriff said.
The pair ended up “stranded on separate small islands midstream” on the Umatilla River on Sunday, April 30, the Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office said in a May 1 Facebook post.
“Both were wearing life jackets but had been stranded for over two hours,” the sheriff’s office said.
The sheriff’s department said it and the Umatilla County Fire Department quickly rescued one of the kayakers, a 33-year-old Hermiston man, “using a rope and pivot recovery.”
Rescuing the other kayaker, a 32-year-old Hermiston man, proved more challenging due to “thick impassable vegetation along the east bank and the width of the river on the west bank,” according to deputies.
The sheriff’s office said rescuers were able to find and reach the man “by crawling through a deer trailer that led to a bank near him.”
Meanwhile, additional rescuers came in from upstream to help with the rescue, deputies said.
After being rescued, the “kayakers were medically assessed” before being released, the sheriff’s office said.
The Umatilla River sits just below the Washington border, about 180 miles northeast of Portland.
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