The Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office reported a man drowned in the Toutle River in a failed attempt to escape from authorities.
The man’s name is being withheld from the public until the coroner’s office notifies next of kin.
Deputies responded around 2:30 a.m. Tuesday to the 8200 block of North Pacific Highway in Castle Rock after learning a man was in violation of a court order to stay away from his girlfriend, who was in a parked car near the Toutle River Bridge, according to a press release.
The release says deputies ordered the man to stop, but he fled on foot and leaped into the Toutle River. Authorities said the male “verbally responded” while in the river but refused to come to shore and was last seen going underwater and not resurfacing.
Cowlitz County Fire District 5, the Cowlitz County Dive Team and a sheriff’s office’s drone were used to search for the man, but his body was not located in the river until 11 a.m. — over eight hours since he was last seen entering the water.
An autopsy has been requested.
According to the National Weather Service, temperatures hit 46 degrees around 2 a.m. in Castle Rock.
