On 8/19/2012, at approximately 2:36 pm, the victim was deep free diving from a 19' open motorboat owned and operated by Operator.  Victim was attempting a 57 foot "free dive" in the Priest Rapids pool, a section of the Columbia River. The location in the pool was just northwest of north end of Goose Island.  It was reported that Victim had done this type of activity before and considered himself successful and confident in doing the dives.   The group had been out on the  water in two boats for about 1 1/2 hours prior to the incident.  Victim had had 3 beers in that time and it was reported that he had been drinking heavily the night before.  He dove down a first time to about 30 feet then said he was sure he could reach the bottom.  He had reached a maximum depth of 45 feet on a separate occasion and felt confident he could make this deeper dive.

 
In attempts to locate the victim's body, a 3-day search & rescue effort was conducted.  Several agencies took part in the efforts including the Grant county search & rescue dive unit, Franklin County Sheriff's Office underwater robot, and a side scan sonar from the Seattle Police Department's Harbor Patrol.  Officers from the  Washington Dept. of Fish & Wildlife and a diver from Kittitas County Sheriff's Office also supported the efforts.   

On 8/25/2012, family members discovered the victim's body along the shore near he Desert Aire Resort on the west shoreline of the pool south of a railroad trestle.  The victim was transported by law enforcement to meet the coroner at the Desert Aire boat launch. 

The victim has history of free diving to depths of 35-40' on a regular basis according to statements from family and friends.

Mattawa                       