Fatal drowning, no life jacket found on victim

GRANTS PASS, Ore.– Late Saturday afternoon, law enforcement received reports of a drowning person out on the Rogue River, prompting a response by the Search and Rescue Dive and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle teams.

The call came in at around 3:30 p.m. that an adult male was reportedly drowning near the Robertson Bridge Boat Park. According to reports the man had been operating a jet ski downstream from the boat ramp but had suddenly gone missing.

Rural Metro Fire and an Oregon State Police Patrol jet boat made initial searches but ultimately it was divers who were able to locate the man.

At around 7 p.m. Saturday, the dive team found the man, reportedly seven feet below the surface of the river. UAV’s and patrols were unable to find him because of dense marine grass that obscured the views of officials, according to the Josephine County Sheriff’s Office.

Upon retrieving the man, the sheriff’s office says that he was not wearing any type of personal flotation device.

While certainly not having a flotation device is part of the cause, an investigation is still ongoing to look into how the man drowned.

The sheriff’s office would like to remind people to wear life jackets whenever recreating in bodies of water, especially during the summer months.