A 21-year-old man died Friday afternoon while trying to rescue his girlfriend in the Green River near Enumclaw, according to the King County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies and rescue teams were called to the river after the man’s girlfriend somehow found herself in the water near the Gorge Bridge and started struggling to return to shore, said sheriff’s spokesperson Sgt. Tim Meyer. Her boyfriend tried to help, but got caught in the water himself, Meyer said.
In addition, the county’s marine-rescue dive unit and South Sound Fire, responded around 3:50 p.m. and found the man’s body.
His girlfriend eventually made it back to the shore and is OK, Meyer said.
It’s unclear if she had fallen into the river, or if the two were swimming at the time.
“Our lakes and rivers remain very cold,” the sheriff’s office tweeted. “All swimmers should use caution.” The office later shared a photo of the river this afternoon, adding, “Today’s photo of the Green River’s swift waters should urge us all to use caution.”
No further information was immediately available.