A young man is believed drowned after rushing into the Cowlitz River on Friday afternoon to rescue a young girl in over her head.

Search crews — including a Coast Guard Helicopter and Cowlitz County Dive Team members — continued Friday evening to search for the 20-year-old man. But, he disappeared under the water roughly at 3 p.m. and the chances of survival diminish the longer he’s not found, officials said.

According to officials and witnesses, a girl was in the water when she fell off a shelf and was suddenly in water over her head. The girl was playing on a sandbar in the river near the old Kelso water treatment plant off of Pacific Avenue. She was on the far side of the sandbar, toward Westside Highway, where the water is much deeper.

The 20-year-old man, who has not been identified, ran in to save her and was able to lift the girl so her head was out of water, said Paul Pennington who as at the beach with friends.

“He was under water holding her up,” said a shaken Pennington. “I was 15 feet away.”

Someone grabbed the girl and lifted her to safety, but when they turned back the man had disappeared under the water, said Alan Headley, assistant chief of Cowlitz 2 Fire & Rescue.

The man and girl are not related and were not at the river together but in two separate family groups, according to Kelso police. He ran in the water when he heard others call for help, witnesses said. The girl was not harmed and went home with family without any medical treatment.

Distraught friends and family left the scene shortly after speaking with officials and rescue crews Friday afternoon. Two women sobbed in each other’s arms near the water’s edge but did not want to talk about the incident and left shortly thereafter.

Officials said the water is deceptively deep on the other side of the sandbar and also cold enough to shock someone who runs in on a hot day.

“This is where life jackets come in and why they’re so important near any water and particularly something like a river,” Headley said.

“I don’t understand why they were out on that side to begin with, it’s too deep,” said Sean Grendon who also was at the river with friends when the incident happened.

“Every year we seem to lose someone (in the river) between Cowlitz Way and the Cowlitz Gardens,” said Capt. Mark Nelson of the Cowlitz County Sheriff’s office. “People don’t understand about the drop off and don’t understand how cold the water is.

“It’s always tragic when you’re talking about someone who goes in to help someone else,” Nelson said. Ideally would-be rescuers should try to throw a rope or life jacket rather than go in over their heads, but that’s hard to remember in the heat of moment, he added.

“You can’t fault anyone for doing something like this, they’re just trying to help,” he said. “But, unfortunately, sometimes they end up sacrificing themselves for others.”

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