Wednesday, July 27, 2016 at 6:30PM the King County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) said its Marine Rescue Unit had pulled a 17-year old female from the North Fork of the Snoqualmie River in the Ernie’s Grove area.
Vis Twitter KCSO stated the female was reportedly swimming with friends when she went under, but no other information was provided Wednesday night.
KCSO Sgt. Cindi West said no other information about the victim would be released until the King County Medical Examiner identified the young woman, but according to numerous posts on social media, she was NOT a Mount Si High School student.
West did say that according to reports from the KCSO Sergeant at the scene, the girl was at the river with two males when the three of them went into the water near Fantastic Falls to swim. The female started to struggle and one of the boys tried to help her, but he was unable to hold onto her without the risk of also drowning himself. That was when they lost sight of her and called for help.
According to Martin Tuip, an Ernie’s Grove resident who resides near where the recovery mission happened, this part of the river is often used for white water kayaking – with the small Fantastic Falls located nearby. He described the spot as ‘dangerous.’
The general area of the river is also referred to by locals as “County Line” and is popular for swimming.
Wednesday afternoon firefighters were on the scene of a massive fire that destroyed a home in the Edgewick area of North Bend when Swift Water Rescue personnel were called to the Snoqualmie River in the 44000 block of SE 70th. Fire crews also were dispatched to a brush fire near the Fire Training Academy on Wednesday.
More information will be released as it becomes available.
