1 dead, 2 missing after group goes over waterfall in Oregon

A body was discovered Monday in water below an Oregon waterfall where a group of six was swept to the bottom on Saturday, killing at least two, authorities said.

Monday’s discovery at Dillon Falls was made by divers on the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office search and rescue team shortly after 11 a.m. amid an ongoing response, the office said in a statement.

Names of the deceased were not available, and the Deschutes County Medical Examiner’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for information.

The sheriff’s office described the body found Monday only as that of a female. The number of missing since the incident has gone from two to one.

“At this time, DCSO can confirm three survivors and two deceased females,” the sheriff’s office said. “One male member of the party is still unaccounted for.”

The sheriff’s office has described its efforts both as “recovery operations” and “search and rescue.”

One person was pronounced dead at the scene amid the response after the incident was reported shortly before 3 p.m. Saturday, the sheriff’s office said. A multiagency search-and-rescue mission was launched Saturday and continues, it said.

Three people were rescued from the water and taken by ambulance to the St. Charles Health System’s medical center in Bend, the sheriff’s office said. Their conditions were unavailable.

Dillon Falls is on the Deschutes River in the Deschutes National Forest, about 173 miles southeast of Portland and about 10 miles south of Bend.

The falls have a 15-foot drop that turns into rapids when the water reaches the Deschutes River, according to Visit Central Oregon, which promotes tourism in the region.

Photos posted by the sheriff’s office show a hazard sign warning visitors of the waterfall nearby and indicating paddlers should wear life jackets.

The office, along with its search-and-rescue arm, Bend Fire and Rescue, and private medical transport company AirLink, which uses helicopters for urgent cases, responded Saturday, sheriff’s officials said. Bend police provided drones to help the search, they said.

The sheriff’s office said its search-and-rescue team launched two drones in the Dillon Falls area Sunday. Fifteen members of a swift water rescue team searched areas highlighted by the drones, the sheriff’s office said.

Three K-9 teams also joined the search effort and worked with marine patrol boats to scour the area downstream of the falls, the sheriff’s office added. The effort also includes a cadaver dog, the sheriff’s office said Monday.