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ELKTON — Search crews today found the body of a man who’d drowned Thursday in the Umpqua River.
Gary Charles Weaver, 39, of Scio was staying with friends at the Big K Guest Ranch near Elkton when he and a friend decided to float through a section of rapids, according to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.
Neither was wearing a flotation device, although the area is believed to be 10- to 25-feet deep.
Weaver’s friend got out of the water, but Weaver continued to float the rapids and disappeared around 4:35 p.m. near the 20000 block of Highway 138 West.
Search crews worked until dark, but were unable to find him Thursday.
The sheriff’s office dive team found him underwater around 9:45 this morning near the area they’d been searching the night before, said sheriff’s spokesman Dwes Hutson.
Members of the sheriff’s office dive team, Elkton Rural Fire District, Kellogg Rural Fire District, and North Douglas County Fire & EMS, assisted in the search.
The Coast Guard also sent a rescue helicopter that searched the area from the air, and members of the Linn County Sheriff’s Office dive team also volunteered to help.
Weaver is the fourth drowning victim in Douglas County this summer, said Hutson.
“You don’t know what’s down there or what it’s doing. There could be fast currents or obstructions,” Hutson said.
• You can reach reporter Erik Skoog at 957-4202 or by e-mail at eskoog@newsreview.info.
Gary Charles Weaver, 39, of Scio was staying with friends at the Big K Guest Ranch near Elkton when he and a friend decided to float through a section of rapids, according to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.
Neither was wearing a flotation device, although the area is believed to be 10- to 25-feet deep.
Weaver’s friend got out of the water, but Weaver continued to float the rapids and disappeared around 4:35 p.m. near the 20000 block of Highway 138 West.
Search crews worked until dark, but were unable to find him Thursday.
The sheriff’s office dive team found him underwater around 9:45 this morning near the area they’d been searching the night before, said sheriff’s spokesman Dwes Hutson.
Members of the sheriff’s office dive team, Elkton Rural Fire District, Kellogg Rural Fire District, and North Douglas County Fire & EMS, assisted in the search.
The Coast Guard also sent a rescue helicopter that searched the area from the air, and members of the Linn County Sheriff’s Office dive team also volunteered to help.
Weaver is the fourth drowning victim in Douglas County this summer, said Hutson.
“You don’t know what’s down there or what it’s doing. There could be fast currents or obstructions,” Hutson said.
• You can reach reporter Erik Skoog at 957-4202 or by e-mail at eskoog@newsreview.info.
