Latest news with #DeschutesCountySheriff'sOffice
Metro
23-07-2025
- Metro
Two women killed after rubber rings plunged down waterfall named
Two women who plunged down a waterfall while tubing on an Oregon river have been identified and remembered as loving adventurers. Amanda Loyd, 40, and Lindsay Bashan, 33, were swept into the main rapids of Dillon Falls after missing the final takeout area before a treacherous part of the Deschutes River. The victims were named by the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office on Tuesday, three days after they dropped down the 15-foot waterfall that is a Class 5 Rapid. Loyd, Bashan and a third person who remains missing had been floating on inner tubes tied together. Investigators learned that the three victims were swept away, while three survivors jumped from their tubes and made it to the shore. 'This has been a difficult and emotional incident,' stated Deschutes County Sheriff Jason Carr, thanking search and rescue deputies and volunteers and the marine patrol unit. 'They have led a coordinated and effective mission under very challenging conditions, and their work has already helped bring answers and closure to two grieving families.' Loyd was born in Kansas but moved to Rockwall, Texas, and 'felt her 'home' was anywhere near nature', according to her obituary. 'Amanda was blessed with many talents including written expression, fitness pursuit, and a fearless adventurous spirit,' it reads. 'Although petite in frame, her powerhouse personality lit up every room she entered. She brought immeasurable joy and laughter to her countless friends and followers.' She had a degree in journalism from the University of North Texas and recently worked as a self-employed realtor and real estate investor. She was also a digital creator and had 2,200 followers on her Facebook page. Bashan, of Parkland, Florida, was adventurous and 'into anything and everything', her father Todd Bashan told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. 'This vacation was an adventure she was doing with her good friends,' her mother, Vivian Bashan, told the newspaper. 'They were just going to do all these great outdoor things, hiking and going on the river. And at least they had the first day.' The mother added that her daughter 'was just a bright, friendly, thoughtful person' and that 'all her friends are just saying how much they loved her and what an amazing friend she was'. Bashan graduated from Florida State University and was preparing to start a new job in New York City the week after the tragedy, her parents said. Search efforts continued on Tuesday for the last missing person, whose identity will not be released until they are found and family members are notified. The sheriff's office committed to using side-scanning sonar to search deeper underwater. More Trending 'We are confident they will continue doing everything possible to locate the final missing individual,' Carr said. Dillon Falls is about 10 miles from Bend. The sheriff's office stated that section where the group was swept away 'features long, violent, and obstructed sections of whitewater with rocks, logs, and other debris that pose serious hazards even to experienced paddlers'. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page.
USA Today
22-07-2025
- USA Today
Second death confirmed in Oregon waterfall accident; search ongoing for third person
A second death was confirmed in a fatal waterfall accident in central Oregon as search and rescue operations entered a third day on July 21, authorities said. Divers with the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office search and rescue team located and recovered the body of the second victim shortly after 11 a.m. local time on July 21, the sheriff's office said in a statement. The agency reported that the victim was discovered below Dillon Falls on the Deschutes River. The accident occurred on the afternoon of July 19 when a group of six people was swept over Dillon Falls, which are rapids on the Deschutes River about 10 miles southwest of the city of Bend. The sheriff's office said it received a report of the incident at about 2:57 p.m. local time and immediately launched search and rescue efforts. One person died at the scene, and three others were rescued from the river and transported by ambulance to a hospital in Bend, according to the sheriff's office. On July 21, the sheriff's office confirmed that the two people killed in the incident are female, and the one person who remains missing is male. "The Deschutes County Sheriff's Office extends its deepest condolences to the families affected and remains committed to exhausting all possibilities in the ongoing search effort," the sheriff's office said in the statement. The sheriff's office has not released the identities of those involved in the accident, noting that the investigation is ongoing. Other law enforcement agencies have also assisted in search and rescue efforts, including the Bend Police Department, Bend Fire and Rescue, and AirLink Critical Care Transport, which provides emergency air medical transport. Search and rescue crews have used boats, drones, swift water rescue teams, and K-9 units to "search, map, and narrow down high-probability locations along the river corridor between the Dillon Falls Day Use Area above the falls and the Aspen Day Use Area below the falls," according to the sheriff's office. California waterfall accident: 3 men found dead after jumping into water near California waterfall Dillon Falls is known for being a powerful, dangerous rapid Dillon Falls, located within Deschutes National Forest, is a series of "quick-drop rapids" along the Deschutes River, according to central Oregon's tourist information center. The 15-foot waterfall is known for being a dangerous Class V rapid, the Salem Statesman Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network, reported. Rivers are rated on a "class scale" to determine the size and technicality of the whitewater, a term used to describe rapids or rivers and creeks that have a significant number of rapids, according to Western River Expeditions. "(Class V rapids are) extremely difficult, long, and very violent rapids with highly congested routes, which should be scouted from shore," Wet Planet Whitewater states on its website. "Rescue conditions are difficult, and there is a significant hazard to life in the event of a mishap. Class V is the upper limit of what is possible in a commercial raft." The Dillon Falls Day Use Area is a popular spot for outdoor recreation, such as hiking, water activities, picnicking, and viewing the waterfall, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The waterfall has also been the site of other tragedies in previous years. In 2022, a 41-year-old man died while floating over Dillon Falls in an innertube, the Salem Statesman Journal reported. At the time, the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office said it received a 911 call reporting that a man "in a tube had gone over the falls 30-35 minutes prior to the call and bystanders had not been able to locate the male." In 2018, a blind athlete from Bend and her father lost control of their canoe in the waters above Dillon Falls, resulting in the father's death, the Bend Bulletin reported. Bend is about 132 miles southeast of Oregon's capital city of Salem. Contributing: Zach Urness, Salem Statesman Journal
NBC News
21-07-2025
- NBC News
1 dead, 2 missing after group goes over waterfall in Oregon
One person is dead and two more are missing after a group of six was swept over a waterfall in Oregon on Saturday, officials said. The group went over Dillon Falls on the Deschutes River west of Bend just before 3 p.m., which is when the 911 call came in, the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office said on Facebook. One person was pronounced dead at the scene, and a multi-agency search-and-rescue mission is underway to find the two who are missing, according to the sheriff's office. The office did not immediately identify the person who died. Three people were rescued from the water and were taken by ambulance to the St. Charles Health System's medical center in Bend, the sheriff's office said. Their current condition is not known. Dillon Falls, in central Oregon, is about 173 miles southeast of Portland. The falls have a 15-foot drop that turns into rapids when the water reaches the Deschutes River, according to Visit Central Oregon, which promotes tourism in the region. Photos posted by the sheriff's office show a hazard sign warning visitors of the waterfall nearby and indicating paddlers should wear life jackets. The office, along with its search and rescue arm and Bend Fire and Rescue, responded to the scene on Saturday. The Bend Police Department provided drones to help the search. The sheriff's office said its search and rescue team launched two drones in the Dillon Falls area on Sunday. Fifteen members of a swift water rescue team physically searched areas highlighted by the drones, the sheriff's office said. Three K-9 teams also joined the search effort and worked with marine patrol boats to scour the area downstream of the falls, the sheriff's office added.
Qatar Tribune
20-07-2025
- Qatar Tribune
One killed, two missing after six swept over Oregon waterfall
Agencies Oregon One person has died and two people remain missing after a group of six people were swept over a waterfall in Oregon on Saturday afternoon, a local sheriff office said. The Deschutes County Sheriff's Office said it rescued three people from the Deschutes River who were transported to the hospital, while another person was declared dead at the scene. Emergency responders used drones to look for survivors near Dillon Falls after receiving an emergency call in the afternoon and plan to resume search efforts on Sunday after pausing overnight. Dillon Falls has a 15-foot (4.5-metre) drop that turns into 'churning rapids in a quick, step ladder-like pattern', according to Visit Central Oregon. The falls over the Deschutes River are near the city of Bend in the Deschutes National Forest, a popular spot for visitors. Each summer, thousands of people boat, kayak or float on inner tubes on the river, which boasts whitewater areas as well as trout and salmon fisheries. Officials have yet to name the victims so they can notify family members before.
Daily Mirror
20-07-2025
- Daily Mirror
Dillon Falls waterfall horror as 6 tourists swept down 15ft plunge with 1 dead and 2 missing
A group of six tourists plunged 15ft down a popular waterfall in Oregon, United States - two people remain missing and one person tragically died Several tourists were horrifically swept over a waterfall leaving one person dead and two people missing. A group of six travellers had visited the popular Deschutes River, in Oregon, United States, but they went over the Dillon Falls waterfall and plunged down 15ft, on Saturday afternoon. Police confirmed three people were rescued following the horror plunge, and they were rushed to hospital, but one person tragically died at the scene. Emergency crews launched a desperate search for two people who went missing after the terrifying incident, as they deployed drones to search for any survivors at the waterfall. The Deschutes County Sheriff's Office said it received a call at around 2.57pm on Saturday afternoon, alerting them to the emergency, but said search efforts had to be paused overnight. Rescuers have since resumed their mission on Sunday morning but two tourists remain missing. The police department said: "A multi-agency search and rescue operation is underway after a group of six individuals went over Dillon Falls on the Deschutes River west of Bend Saturday afternoon." The Sheriff's office added: "DCSO Search & Rescue and Bend Fire & Rescue crews continued recovery efforts into the evening and will work until sunset. If unsuccessful, operations will pause overnight and resume in the morning." The names of the victim and missing people have not been shared by police at this moment. Dillon Falls has a 15ft (4.5 metres) drop that turns into "churning rapids in a quick, step ladder-like pattern", according to the Visit Central Oregon website. Photos from the search have shown rescuers on boats and rafts floating down the river as they look into the water for any clues or the missing tourists. Cops added that drones were also involved in the operation. The Dillon Falls and Deschutes River are popular spots in the summer with thousands of people visiting on boats and kayaks to go down the river. This tragically has not been the only fatal incident at a waterfall recently. A woman lost her life after a fall at a Scottish beauty spot last week. Emergency services were called to the waterfalls at Campsie Glen in East Dunbartonshire, north of Glasgow, at around 12.35pm on Saturday. Authorities were told that a 63-year-old woman had taken a tumble near a car park at the popular location. Betty Molloy was sadly pronounced dead at the scene, despite the swift arrival of emergency services. Tributes were paid to Betty following the tragedy, according to the Daily Record. Eileen Dolan said: "Thoughts and prayers to Betty's family. This is an absolute tragedy. RIP Betty." Mary Young added: "RIP Betty, you were such a lovely lady, thinking of all your family and friends." Pearl O'Donnell said: "RIP Betty, thoughts with the family. This is an absolute tragedy."
