ARLINGTON — A 19-year-old Everett man is presumed to have drowned Monday evening in the Stillaguamish River near Blue Stilly Park northwest of Arlington, according to the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office.
A rescue operation was stopped for the night on Monday after the swimmer went missing in the river. The search was expected to resume Tuesday morning.
The Everett man, was reported missing in the water around 6:30 p.m., Snohomish County sheriff’s Lt. Susy Johnson said.
Another man had tried to help him, but the current pulled the two apart, she said.
Police, fire and rescue crews from all over north and east Snohomish County were looking for the man. Some of his family members were on the scene with a chaplain.
About 50 beachgoers watched the rescue efforts. Many had been picnicking or frolicking in the water, they said. Several were crying.
Linda Henrikson, 49, of Camano Island, had come to the park for a friend’s going-away party. The missing man had been swimming with a relative and jumping off a large rock in the water, she said.
Suddenly, he started to panic and was yelling, and several people went out to try to help him, she said.
She was one of the first people to call 911. People on the beach were stunned, she said.
“It was just heartbreaking,” she said.
Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com.
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