22-year-old drowns after jumping in river to escape deputies, Washington sheriff says
.jpg "A 22-year-old Washington man evaded deputies after allegedly stealing a vehicle by jumping into a river multiple times on Aug. 6, 2021. Before his body was recovered, he was last seen struggling in strong currents.")
A 22-year-old man evaded Washington deputies by jumping into a river on Friday after reports he stole a vehicle, officials said.
Zidany Amado never made it out of the water, Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
The incident began when the owner of the stolen vehicle and a family member went searching for the 1995 Honda Accord in Malott, Washington. The owner had reported the vehicle stolen the day before, the release said.
After driving around town, they spotted the car parked at a home.
Officials said they confronted Amado about the car, and then Amado reportedly wielded a knife and chased them to their car.
Amado pounded on the car windows multiple times and attempted to open the locked doors, so the two sped off, according to the release.
But Amado chased them in the suspected stolen vehicle before turning another direction on the highway, officials said.
At that time, they called the sheriff’s office while pursuing Amado to an orchard south of town, the release said.
Amado abandoned the car and set off on foot. Deputies and a K9 unit began to track him but couldn’t find him.
Then residents began calling in reports of his whereabouts, officials said. Community members had spotted a man wearing all black with no shoes carrying a backpack.
Another person saw him floating in the Okanogan River grasping a log, officials said.
Deputies later discovered Amado crawling out of the river along the east bank. He ignored the deputies warning to give up the chase.
Instead, he continued on.
As evening approached, Amado was last seen struggling in a strong current. He went under the water and never came back up, officials said.
Search and rescue efforts began until it became too dark.
His body was recovered the following morning.
Malott is small town near the Okanogan River, northeast of Seattle.
This story was originally published August 10, 2021 at 1:53 PM with the headline "22-year-old drowns after jumping in river to escape deputies, Washington sheriff says."
