41-year-old man found dead after being swept over waterfall in tube, Oregon cops say

A man’s body was found after he was swept over a waterfall in a tube, Oregon deputies said.

The 41-year-old man from Bend was tubing in Dillon Falls on Tuesday, Aug. 23, when he vanished underwater, the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office said.

Bystanders rushed to help the man, searching for him for up to 35 minutes before calling for help. At about 5:25 p.m., the county dispatch received a 911 call reporting the man missing.

Rescuers started scouring the area for the missing man. They used drones and a fire and rescue team. Nearly an hour after the call for help, a deputy found the man’s body by using the drone.

His body was found “just below Dillon Falls,” deputies said, and Bend Fire and Rescue removed him from the river.

“Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue responded with a motorized boat and transported the deceased subject down to the Aspen Camp Boat Launch,” deputies said in a news release. “The male’s identity is not being released at this time.”

Dillon Falls is a popular rapids area along the Deschutes River. It’s about 10 miles south of Bend.

“Dillon Falls starts off as a dramatic 15-foot drop, then become a steep and violent class-5 rapids with a hazardously positioned tree in the center,” according to Visit Bend.

This story was originally published August 25, 2022 at 11:53 AM with the headline "41-year-old man found dead after being swept over waterfall in tube, Oregon cops say."