Man drowns saving pet pig that fell into river on tubing trip, Washington cops say

A family tubing trip on a Washington river, complete with a pet pig in its own flotation tube, turned tragic Sunday, Chelan County sheriff’s officials say.

The pig fell into the Wenatchee River near Monitor, prompting a 45-year-old man to dive in to try to rescue it about 6 p.m. Sunday, Sheriff Brian Burnett wrote in a statement posted on Facebook.

The man, who had been tubing with his adult son and the pig, began to struggle and went under, Burnett wrote.

His son shouted for help and onlookers collected the pig and got it to shore, Burnett wrote, but they could not find the man.

Chelan County deputies discovered the man downstream and brought him to shore, but lifesaving efforts failed to revive him, Burnett wrote. His name has not been released.

This story was originally published July 8, 2019 at 10:06 AM with the headline "Man drowns saving pet pig that fell into river on tubing trip, Washington cops say."