LONGVIEW, Wash. — A teenager from Longview drowned in the Cowlitz River while out swimming with friends on Saturday, according to the Cowlitz County Sheriff's Office.
Three youths were trying to swim across the river in the Lexington area that evening, the sheriff's office said. By the time they reached about halfway across the river, they began to struggle against the strength of the current as they were attempting to turn back and swim to shore.
One of the friends managed to make it back to shore, but two of them were seen struggling. The sheriff's office said that a bystander jumped into the river to help, managing to bring one of the friends back to shore. The third friend disappeared under the surface.
Cowlitz County deputies, crews from Cowlitz 2 Fire & Rescue and the Cowlitz County dive team were dispatched around 6:15 p.m. The sheriff's office deployed a boat, as did the dive team. Two divers went down to search for the missing teen, recovering his body within minutes.
The sheriff's office identified the victim as 15-year-old Zander Medina of Longview. His family has been notified with assistance from the Cowlitz chaplaincy.
This is a developing story and will be updated with more details as they emerge.
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