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Kayakers try to save 64-year-old angler after plunge into Oregon river, officials say

Two men fishing in an Oregon river Saturday fell into the water from a 15-foot aluminum boat, but only one made it to shore, authorities say.

Nearby kayakers pulled his 64-year-old companion from the Santiam River near the confluence with the Willamette River, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office said in a release.

They took him to shore and performed CPR before rescuers called by his friend arrived, but Gary Schweitzer of Clackamas was later pronounced dead at a hospital, the release says.

The other man who fell from the boat in the 2 p.m. incident was not hurt. Neither man was wearing a life jacket, the sheriff’s office says.

DS
Don Sweeney
The Sacramento Bee
Don Sweeney has been a newspaper reporter and editor in California for more than 35 years. He is a service reporter based at The Sacramento Bee.
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