Vessel – Kayak, not recovered.
Operator/Fatality – 

On 01/01/2023, at about 07:07 p.m., this vessel was operated by Operator just off Austin Point in the Columbia River, closest to the city of Woodland, located in Cowlitz County.

According to Law Enforcement, operator was on the beach fishing with friend when he decided to go fish out of the Kayak. Witness stated that he began to scream from the water that he had tipped over and didn’t have a life vest. The water was approx. 36 degrees at this time. Cowlitz County Sheriff and Woodland Police were notified and responded to attempt to extract the reported subject out of the river. After arrival, they could hear him yelling from the water but due to the darkness and fog they could not see him. While communicating with him, he stated that he was stationary but due to the fog and cold of the water he could not see or swim to us. Due to the current and extreme cold temperature it was not plausible to deploy into the river to try and locate his exact location. Cowlitz County Sheriff deployed the department Aerial Drone and Clark County Fire had a boat in route as well as a Coast Guard helicopter. Officers continued to communicate with him and asked if he could see the drone. Yes, and was able to direct them on placing the drone above his position. They were able to hold the drone in position until the fire boat arrived. Just prior to this, Operator stopped communicating and became silent. He was located in the water and able to be recovered into the fire boat. Operator was unconscious when returned to the dock with medical units performing CPR. Operator was transported to Peace Health Sound West Hospital in Vancouver, WA. Informed by the charge nurse that they were still attempting to resuscitate him. Operator had been pronounced dead about 1 hour later. 


0 Injury / 1 Fatalities
Alcohol Involvement: Unknown
PFD: Not wearing.
Vessel Operator Mandatory Boater Education Card: No
Columbia River
Woodland                      