Fisherman drowns in Chehalis River

[bobcat]

News brief: Fisherman who drowned on Chehalis River identified as Marysville man
Posted By news.reporter.sharyn.decker On Wednesday, January 14, 2015 @ 4:40 pm
By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The victim from the boating accident on the Chehalis River on Monday is a 61-year-old man from Marysville.

Paul A. Philips drowned after he and his friend bailed out of their little fishing boat that began to sink when they ran into rapids and rocks, according to authorities.

It happened near Rainbow Falls State Park, off of state Route 6 west of Chehalis.

The survivor was able to find his friend, drag him to shore and performed CPR, but then had to swim across the river in search of help. He, a 43-year-old Chehalis area resident, was hospitalized for hypothermia.

The sheriff’s office estimates almost an hour passed from the time of the accident until he found a bicyclist on a trail to call 911 on a cell phone.

Philips was not wearing a life jacket, but his friend was, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

[csaaphill]

wow that sucks.

[MLBowhunting]

Very sad.

[BigGoonTuna]

sad to hear, that's an area of the river you really probably don't want to mess around with unless you know what you're doing.

[bowtech721]

I heard about this the other day... what a sad deal.

[Charlie]

So sad. The survivor did good to give him a chance but will now have to relive the horror for the rest of his life.

[pianoman9701]

Sad to hear.

[HUNTINCOUPLE]

Very unfortunate...

[LipRipper!]

Horrible news.  So sad.

[7mmfan]

Awful, and so sobering. The really sad part is that it could have been avoided. PFD's folks. Don't do you any good unless you're wearing them. I've pulled two bodies out of local rivers, both were fisherman, both were not wearing PFD's. Enough said.   

[wildmanoutdoors]

Sad, I'd like to know more. Was it a jet? What were they doing that far up? Steelhead fishing? I have hunted that area allot and never seen boats on that part of the river.