Woman, 30, believed to have drowned in Potholes Reservoir

EPHRATA — A 30-year-old woman was an apparent drowning victim after she fell off an inner tube at the Potholes Reservoir Sunday afternoon.

The accident occurred about 3 p.m., according to a press release from the Grant County Sheriff's Office. The woman's identity was not released as of Monday morning, and officials at the Grant County Coroner's Office said her identity would not be released until after an autopsy was completed.

The woman's identity would be released late Monday at the earliest, officials said.

The woman was one of three people riding inner tubes at the north end of Potholes State Park at about 3 p.m., according to a press release from the Grant County Sheriff's Office. Witnesses at the scene said the three "were riding separate inner tubes in a channel which feeds the reservoir," the press release said. "The woman fell off her inner tube in some rapids and didn't resurface. The water is flowing between 3 and 10 miles per hour in that channel."

Swift water rescue crews were summoned to the scene because of the rapids, the press release said. Crews from Grant County Search and Rescue, Moses Lake Fire Department and Grant County fire districts 5, 10 and 11 assisted in the recovery of the woman's body. She was pulled from the water about 6:30 p.m. Sunday.

For more information, read Tuesday’s Columbia Basin Herald.