FINLEY, Wash. (AP) — A 46-year-old woman died when she went to rescue her daughter on the shores of the Columbia River in Finley.
The Tri-City Herald reports that the woman and her adult daughter were fishing Monday afternoon when the daughter, who was in an inflatable boat, was pulled by the current under a commercial barge moored in the river.
Chief Lonnie Click with Benton Fire District 1 says the victim jumped into the water to help her daughter and was sucked under the barge. The woman was under water for at least five minutes before she was pulled to shore.
Officials said the current near the shoreline was swift.
Medics arrived on scene and pronounced the woman dead. The victim's name was not released Monday.
The woman was not wearing a life jacket.