Update: Marine deputies fail to find man feared drowned in Columbia

Clark County marine patrol deputies searched the Columbia River shoreline for about three hours Monday for a man who went underwater Sunday night, but the search was not successful.

Deputy Todd Baker said that dive teams searched Sunday night for nearly three hours after a man in his 20s didn’t resurface while swimming in the river near the Red Lion Hotel Vancouver at the Quay.

People who were close by said the man seemed to be fine, Baker said.

“They didn’t even know he was in trouble until it was too late,” he said. “He said ‘help’ and went under … drowning is a quick thing.”

The unsuccessful search was difficult because the river bottom has a steep slope in the area, “similar to the side of a mountain,” Baker said.

“There’s so much debris down there,” he said. “Divers were out there and scoured that area really well … I really expected them to find him.”

The Southwest Washington Organization of Rescue Divers, the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office and the Vancouver Fire Department also helped with the search.

Clark County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Fred Neiman said the marine unit may search from boats again in three or four days, but there is no plan to use any dive teams again.

Baker said deputies searched with two boats and covered about three miles of shoreline downstream from the Vancouver Landing dock.