Bodies recovered from Columbia River

Life jackets may have saved lives, deputy says

The bodies of two Seattle-area men and their powerboat were recovered from the Columbia River near Sunland Estates over the weekend.

Searchers discovered the back half of the 20-foot boat, which was reported to have sunk on Sept. 5, with the aid of a side-scan sonar operated by Gene Ralston through the Idaho Mountain Search and Rescue foundation, according to a news release from the Grant County Sheriff's Office.

Ralston first discovered the back half of the boat on Saturday. Grant County Search and Rescue, along with Kittitas Marine Patrol and Yakima County Marine Patrol, pulled the boat to shore.

Later that day, Ralston found the front half of the boat in 88 feet of water and marked the spot with a buoy, according to the release.

Searchers returned to the spot surrounding the front half of the boat Sunday, and Ralston located one of the bodies with the side-scan sonar about 20 yards away from the damaged front half of the boat.

When search and rescue divers descended into the water, they found the front half of the hull upside down, and the body of 32-year-old Chad Doyle, driver of the boat, trapped underneath.

On a second dive, the body of 34-year-old John Bea was located in 84 feet of water about 20 yards away.

Witnesses to the crash had originally reported seeing what looked like an explosion before the boat went down. The lone survivor, Daniel Helgeson of North Bend, was thrown from the boat, suffering bumps and bruises, and did not know what caused the crash.

After recovering the boat, Grant County Chief Deputy Courtney Conklin said the sheriff's office believes the boat was going so fast in choppy water when it hit a wake that the force from coming down broke the boat in two.

"The torque from the boat hitting the water snapped the boat," Conklin said.

The boat was traveling between 50 and 60 miles per hour when the accident occurred, Conklin said.

According to the news release, it would be equivalent to a car hitting a brick wall at 60 miles per hour.

Conklin was reluctant to blame the crash on high speeds because the boat is designed to withstand speeds up to 100 mph. However, he did point out that the men were not wearing life jackets, which could have saved their lives.

Alcohol was not determined to be a factor, Conklin said.,,2(OhmlR'n@>=body reco 9/14Main_Server,,2oo`2AUDTAe”oo|