OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — A man who tried taking his bicycle across the Elwha River off Olympic Hot Springs Road was rescued by emergency crews after the fast-moving waterway swept him away and carried him downstream.
The unidentified man, in his 50s or 60s, was plucked off an island in the river by a regional swift-water rescue team more than three hours after he was pushed down the waterway, said Jake Patterson, Clallam County Fire District 2 fire chief.
The man still had his bike, Patterson said.
He was not injured but was taken for precautionary measures to Olympic Medical Center.
Emergency crews were unable Monday to find a man for more than an hour after he was swept away by the Elwha River. (Maureen Heaster/Peninsula Daily News)
Patterson said witnesses saw the man get carried down the river at about 11:30 a.m. about 3 miles south of U.S. Highway 101.
“They lost sight of him, as reported to Park Service employees,” Patterson said.
After rescue crews were unable to find the man, personnel enlisted the help of Life Flight Network air ambulance service, which located the man on the island, Patterson said.
The rescue team took him to the shoreline by about 3 p.m.
The river in places was “knee deep and moving fast,” Patterson said.
“Apparently, it knocked him over.”
Personnel from Olympic National Park, the Port Angeles Fire Department and Sequim-area Fire District 3 also responded to the incident.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
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