Bodies recovered from White River Falls drowning - KPTV - FOX 12
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The bodies have been found, and on Tuesday night, the families of the two people who drowned at White River Falls can begin to get some closure.
Wasco County dive teams scoured the waters Tuesday to find 15-year-old Caleb Justice and 26-year old Brett Mclean.
Both were attending the Experience The Valley Bible Camp in Tygh Valley when they slipped and fell at the falls yesterday.
After hours of searching, dive teams recovered their bodies earlier Tuesday night as their families waited nearby.
"They're very devastated and they're still in shock—those were their family members," Chief Deputy Lane Magill with the Wasco County Sheriff's Office said.
The accident has left hundreds mourning.
"They both loved the Lord passionately and their passion for Jesus was evident in their lives. And we're confident that while they've been taken away from us, they are in a place of comfort and rest with God," Pastor Paul Ireland of River Rock Church said.
The trip to the falls was part of an activity at the Experience The Valley Bible Camp.
More than 100 high schoolers were at the camp this year from several local churches in the Camas and Vancouver areas.
Caleb was one of them.
Mclean was a volunteer.
"Caleb was a very compassionate, kind, kid. And he loved the Lord and it was definitely evident in his life," Ireland said.
"Brett was the guy that other people wanted to be like, he's the guy that other people loved to be around. You loved life when you were around him," Mclean's friend, Jamie Lawson, said.
Wasco County sheriff's investigators say the two were walking around the lower part of the falls Monday and had stopped to take a picture when they both slipped in together.
Investigators say one witness threw in a rope and another jumped in to try to save them, but the current was too strong.
"Our number one priority right now is for the students that are here and the families of Caleb and Brett," Camp Director Mathias Califf said.
He said the remaining campers are doing well despite the circumstances and have begun to regain hope.
"There are difficult things in this world, but we have a God who is good and who provides, and he has provided strength today," Califf said.
Grief counselors are on hand to help the kids at camp.
Meanwhile, prayer services have been taking place both at River Rock and Harvest Community churches in Camas.
We're told they're in the process of setting up a memorial fund for both Caleb and Mclean.
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