Search and rescue crews recover the body of missing teen

Published 1:30 am Saturday, May 9, 2020

MONROE — Search and rescue teams recovered the body of a 17-year-old boy near Cedar Ponds Friday, according to the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office.

The boy had been cliff diving in the area south of Sultan on Sunday. He reportedly dove into the water and didn’t resurface, witnesses reported.

Search teams with the sheriff’s office and the Snohomish County Volunteer Search and Rescue responded just before 6 p.m. Sunday, but couldn’t recover the boy’s body because of dangerous conditions.

Those conditions persisted through the rest of the week. Swiftwater rescue volunteers finally were able to recover the body around 3:30 p.m. Friday.

The boy’s identification, and his cause and manner of death, will be provided by the Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Three other people have drowned at the location in the past two years, according to the sheriff’s office. They were a 26-year-old Monroe man, a 28-year-old Everett woman and a 22-year-old Monroe woman.

The sheriff’s office provided the following safety tips when going near Snohomish County’s creeks and rivers, where currents can be swift:

Always wear a life jacket when you are on the water. Never go near moving water without one.

Beach logs, river banks and rocks near the shore are usually slippery. A fall can knock you unconscious and prevent you from being able to save yourself.

Consider bringing a whistle. If you are in trouble, it could help alert nearby people.

Keep kids within arm’s reach. Drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related death among children ages 14 and under.

Don’t dive in. Two-thirds of catastrophic neck injuries occur in open water and the sea.