A body presumed to be that of the lost kayaker from California was retrieved near Meldrum Bar Park in Gladstone on Sunday, according to the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office. The deceased man, speculated to be a 20-year-old from Porterville, went missing following an incident last month where he was seen going over Willamette Falls, as reported by KGW.
The discovery occurred around 1 p.m., where "deputies observed the body in a difficult to reach location along the shoreline," details, the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office said. Efforts by the county's marine unit succeeded in accessing, and consequently recovering the body. A witness account of a kayaker in distress upstream from Willamette Falls had triggered the search operation, with reports of the individual not resurfacing after having gone over the abrupt drop on April 12, according to information from KATU.
Angelo Rodriguez is the name of the man who has been unaccounted for since the night of April 12. Initial reports came from multiple 911 callers who witnessed a kayaker struggling in the turbulent waters just before the plunge. Despite a substantial search effort that spanned several weeks, hope dimmed as days passed without any sign of the missing kayaker.
The identification process of the deceased is underway, and an update is awaited to confirm whether the recovered body is indeed that of Rodriguez. "The body was found in a difficult to reach location along the shoreline," north of Meldrum Bar Park, as per the KOIN report. The Clackamas County marine unit’s involvement was pivotal at this stage of the recovery, given the challenging terrain, and restricted accessibility of the site where the body was found.
