A 50-year-old man drowned in the Molalla River last week, according to the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office.
At about 3 p.m., on June 2, 911 dispatch received a reported about a man in distress in the Molalla River at Wagon Wheel Park at 28100 South Highway 213.
The sheriff’s office said Kevin Justin Whisman was at the park with a friend and had entered the river to cool off when he was swept out by the fast-moving current. Attempts by other people at the park to reach him were not successful.
Multiple agencies responded to the park. It was first reported that Whisman had completely submerged in a 20-to-25-foot deep section of the river, but the sheriff’s office said another 911 caller reported seeing a body floating in the river, visible from the Arrowhead Golf Course, west of the park.
A boat crew with Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue located Whisman and attempted CPR, but sadly he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The sheriff’s office said significant rainfall has the Molalla and other local rivers running higher than average, with swift, strong current and cold water. People should use caution in and around local waterways.
