Men fall in freezing waterfall and go missing for a day, WA cops say. Now bodies found
The bodies of two men were found a day after they fell into a freezing Washington waterfall, deputies said.
The men were with a group of people at Eagle Falls at about 4:15 p.m. Saturday, March 16, the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post.
At one point, the group was at the top of the falls, sheriff’s department spokesperson Courtney O’Keefe told McClatchy News by email.
Two of the men fell into the water and never resurfaced, deputies said.
Rescuers looked for the missing men for hours, but couldn’t find them.
Their bodies were “recovered from the area of Eagle Falls” before noon the next day and taken to the medical examiner’s office, deputies said.
The medical examiner will identify the pair, whom O’Keefe described as “college aged/young adults.”
Is it safe to swim at Eagle Falls?
Eagle Falls runs into the South Fork Skykomish River along U.S. Route 2. The falls are about a 55-mile drive northeast of Seattle.
Although there are some reports of people swimming in the area, deputies warn against it.
“The water has an extremely strong current underneath that can pull down even the strongest swimmers. The water is fast, deep, and running high due to snow melt,” the sheriff’s department said in a previous Facebook post.
“Eagle Falls is very dangerous, very slippery,” Lt. Glenn DeWitt told The Seattle Times. “The current is very swift. The water temperature is still very cold and we’re talking hypothermia.”
Authorities, who said they respond to rescue calls every year in the area, encourage people to find other swimming spots and always wear a life jacket.
This story was originally published March 19, 2024 at 1:43 PM with the headline "Men fall in freezing waterfall and go missing for a day, WA cops say. Now bodies found."
