SILVER LAKE, Wash. — A man who drowned in a lake in Cowlitz County on Saturday also had broken ribs and a cracked vertebra, according to authorities.
The Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office said Paul Elf, 42, of Castle Rock, was last seen by his girlfriend at around 3 p.m. on Saturday. She said Elf told her he was going for a swim in Silver Lake. The lake is about seven miles east of Castle Rock.
About 30 minutes later, a boater saw a man, identified as Elf, in the water face down and not responsive. People in the area helped get Elf out of the water, performed CPR and got a pulse, the sheriff’s office said.
Randy Kell, the owner of Streeters Resort, was one of the people who tried to save Elf.
"Pretty much everyone pitched in and did CPR," Kell said. "We did our best, took turns doing chest compressions just trying to keep him alive."
Elf was then taken to a hospital, where he died hours later. The coroner said Elf died as a result of drowning but also discovered his other injuries. The sheriff’s office is unsure what caused those injuries.
“While we understand there will be a desire to ask whether or not these injuries could be caused by other means such as something of a criminal nature, we do not want to speculate,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release on Wednesday.
Kell said the water is only about 4-6 feet deep in the area where Elf was found.
"It's a mystery to us," he said. "We feel bad for the family and it's a sad day."
Detectives were told there was a man who told people in the area that he “struck something” while boating in Silver Lake shortly before Elf was discovered, the sheriff's office said. Detectives do not know who the man is.
Anyone who was boating on Silver Lake in the mid-afternoon of Aug. 18 is asked to call the Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office at 360-577-3092 and leave a message for Detective Cory Robinson.