Members of an area rescue team recovered two bodies from the Columbia River Monday evening after they had been reported missing as of Saturday night.
A female body was recovered Monday night around 8 p.m., with a male body being recovered about 30 minutes later.
On Saturday around 7:48 p.m., the Umatilla County 911 dispatch center received a report that two adults had been hanging onto the back of a boat while the boat was making way near “Bobby’s Beach,” which is along Highway 730 near milepost 195. When the boat arrived on shore the two adults were no longer holding onto the boat and were missing.
Rescue personnel from multiple jurisdictions conducted shore line, air and water searches until around 1 a.m., before resuming the searches at 8 a.m. on Sunday. Organizations taking part in the search included members of the Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office, Morrow County Sheriff’s Office, Benton County (Washington) Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, Umatilla Fire Department, Umatilla County Fire District, Franklin County Fire Department, Columbia Basin Dive Rescue, and Lifeflight Air Ambulance
The bodies were recovered Monday night by members of the Columbia Basin Dive Rescue after being located underwater near Bobby’s Beach, using the side-scan sonar. Search efforts have been concluded and an investigation is ongoing.
The names of the drowning victims have not been released.
