Press Release: August 16, 2024
Salem, Ore. — A volunteer dive team today located the body of a man in the Willamette River.
The divers were searching the waters for a Salem man presumed accidentally drowned on Monday, August 12. Just before 11:00 p.m. that night, emergency personnel responded to Wallace Marine Park after callers reported a woman had jumped into the river from the Union Street Pedestrian Bridge and was struggling to swim. Witnesses at the riverbank reported a man swam into the river to help her.
Officers located the woman who made it to shore. She was transported to the hospital. People along the riverbank stated that the man who attempted to render aid had submerged and did not resurface.
Officers scoured the banks on foot and deployed two drones to search for the man. Salem firefighters also launched a search boat to assist. The man was not located. The next morning a Salem Police and Polk County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue team did another boat search of the river but did not locate him.
Witnesses to the incident reported the man who jumped into the river to help as 35-year-old Derik Morganstern of Salem.
At approximately 5:00 p.m. today, the divers recovered the body, tentatively identified as Morganstern; however, an examination by the Oregon State Medical Examiner will rule the official cause of death and confirm identity.
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