SALEM, Ore. — Family members are remembering a Salem man who jumped into the Willamette River to save a stranger — and lost his own life in the process.
"Some people have good hearts, and he had a good heart," said Cori Engstrom, talking about her brother, Derik Morganstern. "I just love him, and I miss him so much."
On Aug. 12 before 11 p.m., Salem police received a call about a woman who had jumped from the Union Street Pedestrian Bridge into the Willamette River. Before they responded to the scene at Wallace Marine Park, Derik Morganstern went into the water, hoping to save her as she struggled to swim.
More than a week later — and just days after divers recovered what they believe to be his body from the river — Derik Morganstern's sisters spoke with KGW about his selfless final act and why it did not come as a surprise.
"He was down here on shore, hanging out with his dog and some people, and he saw her up there. When that girl was up there, he just knew he had to save her," said Alaina Morganstern, talking about her brother. "He just ran in, you know, dropped his bag, stripped off his shirt, emptied his pockets, told his dog Brownie to stay, and then just ran in at almost 11 o'clock at night, knowing what this river is like."
Although the 20-year-old woman made it to shore, 35-year-old Morganstern did not. His sisters said authorities found him where he went under on Friday.
As they grieve, they are planning to hold a celebration of life by the river this weekend and they are inviting all those who knew Derik Morganstern to remember him. They said he didn't have an easy life, and struggled with addiction and his mental health.
"He went out showing the world his true heart, not the addiction, not the mental illness. Not his issue with the police. He came out the way we all wanted him to, you know, wanted people to see him," Alaina Morganstern said.