Tacoma marina restricts public access to boat ramp after fatalities

TACOMA — A gate has been installed in front of a Tacoma public boat ramp where reports show that at least seven people had died over the past two decades, including one man last month.

The News Tribune in Tacoma reported that a sign on the gate outside the Narrows Marina’s launch reads “No trespassing: Public boat ramp closed.”

Narrows Marina LLC owner Scott Wagner says the boat launch is only available to marina customers. He said marina operators did not feel the boat launch was unsafe.

Last year it was reported that at least eight cars had plunged from the boat ramp in the previous 17 years. Four of 11 people in the cars were killed. Another was left permanently disabled. Three more deaths were discovered after the investigation.