SPOKANE — Spokane Fire Department crews rescued one man from the Spokane River on Friday and searched for another in frigid fast-flowing water nearing flood-stage, spokesman Brian Schaeffer said.
The rescued man was standing about 20 feet from shore and appeared to be under the influence of drugs, Schaeffer said. He was taken to a hospital.
The man said a friend also was in the water, so rescuers searched for a short time. No one else was found, and the report may not have been credible, Schaeffer said.
There’s no indication why the man entered the river, which is within a foot of flood stage from recent snow, rain and runoff.
Meanwhile, there’s still no sign of a Fairchild Air Force Base airman who he put a canoe in the river last Saturday at rapids at the Bowl and Pitcher area at Riverside State Park, about three miles downstream from Spokane.
The search for James Adam Ramse-Lassiter, 26, has been scaled down because of the hazardous water conditions, said Spokane County sheriff’s Deputy Craig Chamberlin.
An air, water and ground search hasn’t even found his canoe.
The sheriff’s marine unit will continue checking the river periodically, Chamberlin said.
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