27-year-old swept away in frigid river found dead five days later, Oregon cops say
.jpg "A Portland man died after falling into an Oregon river, deputies said.")
The body of a 27-year-old man was discovered days after he was swept away in a frigid and rushing river in Oregon, deputies said.
Witnesses called 911 after 3:30 p.m. March 25 after seeing Kaleb Rethwisch fall into the Bull Run River, the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post.
Rescuers responded to Dodge Park and began searching for the Portland man, deputies said.
He was last seen being carried “toward the confluence with the Sandy River,” deputies said.
But the search wasn’t easy for rescuers because of “frigid water temperatures, powerful currents, and low visibility,” deputies said.
Teams scoured the area until that evening, then looked for the missing man the next day.
Deputies said someone found his body March 30, about 2.5 miles downstream from Dodge Park where the Bull Run River runs into the Sandy River.
Rethwisch’s body was recovered and taken to a medical examiner.
“Even as warmer weather begins to arrive, rivers remain cold, fast-moving, and unpredictable due to spring runoff, creating conditions that can quickly become life-threatening,” deputies said.
Clackamas County is in northwestern Oregon.
This story was originally published April 1, 2025 at 4:56 PM with the headline "27-year-old swept away in frigid river found dead five days later, Oregon cops say."
