A man drowned Thursday afternoon after trying to rescue his 12-year-old daughter from the water at the North Fork Park, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office said.
The man, identified as Baltazar Tellovelasco, 29, of Oxnard, California, had gone into the water to help his daughter, who was in distress, deputies said.
Emergency services from Lyons Fire District and Stayton Fire District were dispatched at 2:09 p.m. for a water rescue along the Little North Fork of the Santiam River after Tellovelasco had gone underwater and didn’t come back up, the news release said. His daughter was able to make it out of the water safely.
Bystanders pulled Tellovelasco from the water before emergency responders arrived, the news release said. After attempts to resuscitate Tellovelasco, emergency responders pronounced him dead at the scene.
The Little North Fork of the Santiam River is a popular recreational area in the Santiam Canyon. Even on warm days, the water is usually very cold, swift and can be deeper than swimmers may think.
The sheriff’s office suggests people never swim alone, avoid alcohol or marijuana around the water, wear a life jacket, know how to perform CPR and know where you could call 911.
Phone reception is unreliable in the North Fork area of the Santiam River. Two 911 call boxes are on the outside wall of the Elk Horn Fire Station and at the entrance to Salmon Falls Park.
-- Christina Morales; cmorales@oregonian.com; 503-221-5771; @Christina_M18
Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox.