GOLD BAR — A man’s body was recovered from the water and another man made it to shore after a boat was pinned against a rock and flipped on the Skykomish River.
The men set off to go fishing at about 4 a.m. Saturday near Big Eddy, east of Gold Bar, according to the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office. They appear to have made it about half a mile before the current carried them into a rock and capsized the boat, Lt. Rick Hawkins said.
Marine and dive units with the sheriff’s office and the Monroe Fire Department’s swift water team responded to the call around 5 a.m. They searched the river by helicopter and boat. The body of one fisherman, a 57-year-old man from Sultan, was found about half a mile downstream from Big Eddy.
The second fisherman had made it to shore on his own and called for help. He was picked up by a rescue boat.
Emergency responders urge caution in or near water. Though it may be warm outside, the water is cold and the currents in rivers are strong.
“The rivers this time of year are high,” Hawkins said. “The temperature of the river is around 45 degrees.”
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