Pickup lands in slough, driver missing

A pickup left Dike Road and landed in the Columbia River slough Friday afternoon in Woodland. Firefighters who searched the water and shoreline were unable to find the driver.

The incident was reported to emergency responders shortly after 1:30 p.m. near the intersection of Dike Road and Dike Access Road.

The Cowlitz County Dive Team found a white pickup underwater; it was hooked to a cable and pulled up an embankment to the roadway, said Battalion Chief Tim Dawdy, spokesman for Clark County Fire & Rescue. The pickup was heavily damaged, and all of the windows were popped out.

Nobody was found inside the pickup. Firefighters with Clark County Fire & Rescue were on the agency’s rescue boat, searching for bodies or survivors.

“Everything is being done that can be done in these conditions,” Dawdy said. “The temperatures out here are very cold.”

With the low temperatures, he said, the chances that someone in the water is still alive are minimal.

A witness told the Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office that the pickup’s only occupant was the driver. Deputies are not releasing the name of the registered owner.