PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — An 11-year-old boy and a 44-year-old youth pastor drowned after a swimming incident in Hood River on Wednesday in the marina.
The Hood River County Sheriff’s Office said the boy was found at the mouth of the White Salmon River and later pronounced dead at a hospital.
Andrew Inskeep of Ridgefield, Washington, a youth pastor with Ridgefield Church of the Nazarene, was missing until about 6:30 p.m. on Thursday when boaters found his body on the Columbia River near milepost 54 on Highway 14.
He and the boy, a member of his youth group, were out swimming during a youth trip.
Witnesses spotted them struggling in the water before disappearing. There were 18 people total on the trip, including youth and adults.
Officers from the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission Enforcement launched with a Hood River City Police officer on board. The search was joined by boats and deputies from the Wasco, Skamania, and Klickitat County Sheriff’s Offices, with Hood River County Sheriff’s Office deputies on board. The HRCSO airplane also flew.