BRINNON — The family of an Oakville man who drowned in the Duckabush River near Brinnon is pushing for divers and dogs to be brought in to find his body.
While swimming with friends Saturday in the Duckabush river near Brinnon, Jesse Cruz, 34, rescued his girlfriend before disappearing into the river, which was running high and cold due to recent snowmelt, according to Brinnon Fire Chief Tim Manly.
“Jesse is a great swimmer,” said David Ramirez, Cruz’s cousin, who is handling media relations for the family. “He was in the water almost every chance he could, even at a young age.”
According to Manly, Cruz was lost at about 5 p.m. Saturday after rescuing girlfriend Tisha Newby. Manly said the friends they had been swimming with reported that Cruz ran out of energy and was seen floating upriver.
Ramirez said Cruz’s friends Nick Stone, Tiffany Morris and Ryan Ward all jumped into the river to help but couldn’t reach Cruz.
First responders from the Brinnon Fire Department, Jefferson County Search and Rescue, Olympic Mountain Rescue and Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office combed the banks of the river south of where Cruz went missing Saturday night and all day Sunday.
The group was swimming in the river off Ranger Hole Trail in Olympic National Forest.
Manly said Tuesday he felt confident that had Cruz been able to climb out of the river, they would have found him.
The fire chief added that it is likely, due to the high water levels in the Duckabush, that Cruz’s body was too deep in the river for search and rescue to see.
According to Ramirez, Cruz’s family is urging the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office to continue the search with divers.
The sheriff’s office has contacted a swift-water rescue diving team from Pierce County, which is in the process of assessing the conditions of the Duckabush River to ensure a continued search would not endanger the divers.
Cruz’s family has also set up a GoFundMe to raise money for search and rescue dogs. According to the GoFundMe, which is managed by Ramirez, the family originally hoped to raise $1,410 to fund having the dogs search the area for three days. They have since raised $2,295.
The GoFundMe can be found at www.gofundme.com/find-jesse-cruz.
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Jefferson County Editor/Reporter Cydney McFarland can be reached at 360-385-2335, ext. 55052, or at cmcfarland@peninsuladailynews.com.
