MAUPIN, Ore. — An Aloha man drowned in White River, outside of Tygh Valley, on Saturday afternoon, the Wasco County Sheriff's Office (WCSO) reported. Witnesses told deputies that the man went under after saving his daughter from a whirlpool.
The victim, 38-year-old Jason Manuel Vantine, of Aloha, was visiting White River Falls State Park with his two children, WCSO said. According to witnesses, Vantine and one of his daughters were swimming in the river when they were caught in a whirlpool and started to struggle.
Vantine was able to free his daughter from the whirlpool but then went under. A bystander jumped in the water and pulled the young girl to safety and then went back and pulled Vantine from the river.
After they arrived, deputies and medics assisted bystanders with CPR but Vantine was pronounced dead at the scene. His children were uninjured and taken home to Aloha by Oregon State Police troopers.
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