MULTNOMAH COUNTY, OR -
A woman who got stuck on a sandbar while jet skiing on the Columbia on Saturday night is recovering from hypothermia after swimming to the Oregon side of the river.
At about 9 p.m. her husband, identified by police as Cameron Shough, told boaters anchored near Rooster Rock that his wife, Caitrin, had become stranded. He then left to go try and find her.
That's when the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office launched a search and rescue mission that would wind up stretching for hours into the night. Several other agencies, including the Clark County Sheriff's Office, the U.S. Coast Guard, Portland Police Bureau Air Support, Gresham Fire, Corbett and volunteers from the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office, joined in the operation.
Cameron Shough was found at about 11:30 p.m. on a boat anchored near Rooster Rock State Park. He was in good condition and transported to the operations base in the park.
Just before 1 a.m., a Coast Guard helicopter crew spotted Caitrin's jet ski on Reed Island. Searchers honed in on the area, hiking through rugged terrain while river patrol units scoured the water and surrounding islands.
About four hours later, Caitrin was located on Interstate 84 near milepost 20. She told police that at some point in the night she had decided to swim across the South Channel of the Columbia River from Reed Island to the Oregon shore.
Caitrin was suffering from the onset of hypothermia and was transported to the Mount Hood Medical Center for treatment. She has since been released.
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