A 70-year-old Parkdale man drowned Friday night after falling off a sailboat and into the Hood River Marina, hours after a Beaverton teen is presumed to have drowned off the coast of Cannon Beach.
Around 6:45 p.m., Dennis Howe was in a sailboat that was about to dock when he fell into the water and didn’t resurface, the Hood River County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement Monday.
Hood River sheriff’s deputies and police officers responded to the marina shortly before 7 p.m.. Several bystanders had jumped into the water to find Howe but were unsuccessful, officials said.
The Skamania County Dive Team responded to assist with finding Howe’s body, but were unable to do so before dark. Rescuers returned to the water Saturday morning and recovered his body by 10 a.m., the sheriff’s office said.
Rex McCourt, 71, of Hood River was operating the sailboat Howe fell from, officials said.
The sheriff’s office is investigating the drowning and asked anyone with information to contact them. Officials did not say whether Howe was wearing a life jacket.
— Catalina Gaitán, cgaitan@oregonian.com, @catalingaitan_
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