Chelan County Sheriff - Sheriff Mike
Harum reports on 08/02/07 at approx 4:30 p.m., Sheriff’s
Deputies were dispatched to a missing person in the Wenatchee River near Monitor. Along with units from
the Cashmere and Monitor Fire Departments, Deputies arrived on scene to search
the banks of the river, while the Sheriff’s Office white-water raft was deployed
with rescue personnel at the Monitor Park.
According to family members, Elizabeth Ellis, age 50, of
Escondido, CA, along with husband John and adult daughter
Stephanie, was floating the river on an inner-tube. The family was swept into a
deep and fast moving channel, forcing them into a large area of fallen trees
along the riverbank. Elizabeth Ellis fell into the water and was last seen
clinging onto branches of a fallen tree in swift water. Shortly thereafter, she
disappeared beneath the surface of the water, and became trapped under the
overgrowth of brush and trees along the riverbank.
At approximately 5:25 p.m., enough brush was cleared to
reach the victim, who died at the scene. Chelan County Coroner Wayne Harris will investigate the cause of
death.
The Chelan
County Sheriff’s Office and Fire
Department personnel stress that although the river volume has decreased, there
are still many areas that pose a very real danger to anyone attempting to float
the Wenatchee
River.