Four deaths on two Snohomish County rivers since March

It was a deadly holiday weekend on Snohomish County rivers.

What you need to pack besides a life jacket to stay safe.

Four people, all men, have drowned on two Snohomish County rivers since March. A 46-year-old man drowned Saturday on the Stillaguamish River. A 24-year-old man drowned on July 4th on the Skykomish River.

Life jackets save lives. But there’s other equipment that can help, too.

Yes, I’ve never even heard of one until today, a “rope bag.” We’ll show you how it works in a moment. Because sadly, a man drowned here at the Granite Falls Fishway this weekend.

On a hot July Monday, it is easy to see the pull of the Stillaguamish River. But locals are not surprised when someone is deceived by its stunning good looks.

“No, the rivers out here are pretty rough,” said Mandi Garvin.

She learned as a child what water is safe.

“Shallow, not near any waterfall,” she said. “Obviously, not near any current.”

The Stilly, as locals call it, proved lethal for a 46-year-old man Saturday. He was not responsive when medics found him on the river’s South Fork. And he is not the only person to drown in Snohomish County this holiday weekend.

“Our crews showed up over the weekend,” said Peter Mongillo. “and they’re well-trained in this.”

Mongillo, the spokesman for Snohomish County Regional Fire & Rescue, says crews responded to a 24-year-old man in distress at Eagle Falls on the Skykomish River, some 42 miles southeast of the Granite Falls Fishway.

“They got a rescue swimmer to dive down about 20 feet of water at Eagle Falls,” he said, “and pulled the victim out of the water. And then we had to pull him out of the ravine.”

The numbers are startling. A man drowned at Eagle Falls in March. Then in May, a 19-year-old Lake Stevens man drowned at the Granite Falls Fishway or Ladder. And the two drownings last weekend. Mongillo stresses the need for life jackets, but there’s also this.

“It’s like a life jacket with a rope,” said Mongillo, tugging on a so-called ‘rope bag.’ “Essentially, you grab it out of the thing and out into the river. That person’s then able to grab onto it and then you can start pulling them in.”

I figured if I hadn’t heard of them perhaps you hadn’t either. So I looked up ‘rope bags’ and this is what I found. There are plenty of them. They range in cost from very little to a lot.

But if they can help save a life, they are priceless.