Body of Graham drowning victim recovered from Puyallup River

Pierce County sheriff’s deputies Sunday afternoon recovered the body of a Graham man who drowned Saturday evening in the Puyallup River near Orting.

The 51-year-old was inner-tubing with three or four friends down the river when he got trapped beneath a logjam, Sheriff’s Department spokesman Ed Troyer said.

Pierce County medical examiners identified the man as Kenneth Keen, 51.

According to Troyer:

Deputies were called about 7:20 p.m., but rescuers determined it was too dangerous to go into the logjam.

Pierce County Surface Water Management brought a backhoe Sunday to the site, clearing the jam about 12:30 p.m., allowing deputies in the rescue team to recover the body.

The inner tube and personal flotation device the man was using were of poor quality.

“Rivers are running fast, there’s debris in them, water’s a lot colder than people think,” Troyer said. “People have to respect the power of rivers.”

This story was originally published June 5, 2016 at 4:17 PM with the headline "Body of Graham drowning victim recovered from Puyallup River."