PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — An all-day search for a kayaker who plunged over the Willamette Falls in Oregon City late Saturday night is on hold until Monday, authorities said. Late Sunday afternoon, Portland Fire & Rescue said a body was spotted in Multnomah County waters, but there is no official connection or confirmation that is the missing kayaker.
The search began just before 11 p.m. when multiple people called 911 to report a kayaker “in distress” just upstream of Willamette Falls. Other witnesses then claimed to see the kayaker, an adult man, go over the falls and not resurface.
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Emergency responders, including the US Coast Guard and a Portland Police Bureau aircraft, rushed to the scene. The search continued until around 4:30 p.m. Sunday.
Searchers found his blue hard-shell kayak Sunday morning.
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An all-out search was launched for a kayaker who went over the Willamette Falls late on the night of April 12, 2025 (KOIN)
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An all-out search was launched for a kayaker who went over the Willamette Falls late on the night of April 12, 2025 (KOIN)
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Officials are searching for a kayaker who went missing after plunging over Willamette Falls on Apr. 12, 2025. (KOIN)
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Officials are searching for a kayaker who went missing after plunging over Willamette Falls on Apr. 12, 2025. (KOIN)
Meanwhile, community members, like Paul Kays, were left wondering how this could happen.
“You need to be aware of your water surroundings when you go out on the river,” Kays said. “We kayak and whitewater raft and it’s like, you don’t want to go into a spot where you don’t know what’s going on around you, like is there a waterfall.”
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Other people who live upstream from the falls on the water told KOIN 6 News they kayak up there all of they time – but in the summer, when the water level is lower and calmer.
No further information, including the kayaker’s identity, has been released at this time.
Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office.
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