Search called off for missing kayaker on Klickitat River

29-year-old presumed drowned. Officials call off search because of dangerous conditions

The two-person inflatable kayak was seen resting on top of wood debris on the right side of the river, near the Klickitat Fish Hatchery on June 9, nearly a week after a 29-year-old woman fell out of the boat and went missing. Officials called off the search last week. Photo by Justin Brimer

By Justin Brimer

Search and rescue officials called off a search for a woman who fell out of her boat into the frigid waters of the Klickitat River Saturday, June 3.

Sandy Sridhar, 29, was kayaking with her husband in a two-person inflatable kayak when the boat got stuck on the Low Head Dam near the Klickitat Fish Hatchery. Both Sridhar and her husband fell out of the boat. He was able to make it to the shore and contacted officials with the Klickitat County Sheriff’s Office.

Sridhar was not wearing a life jacket or a dry suit.

Along with employees from Wet Planet Whitewater, county search and rescuers formed a raft and kayak team and floated from the nearby fish hatchery downstream to Leidl Park, looking for Sridhar, according to a release from the Sheriff’s Office.

Officials also used a Search and Rescue K-9 and a drone to aid in the search, but they were not able to locate the missing kayaker.

They returned the next day, June 4, and continued to walk the banks near where Sridhar was last seen. They could not find her and called off the search at 1 pm, citing hazardous conditions for the searchers.

At the time Sridhar fell Into the water, the Klickitat River was running cold, fast and high due to recent spring runoff, according to officials.

This section of the Klickitat has Class III rapids and the Low Head Dam is a well-known hazard to experienced boaters, said Chip Hogan who lives in the area and has paddled the Klickitat River dozens of times.

He said that man-made hazards, like the Low Head Dam, are especially dangerous to those who float or paddle the river. The dam runs perpendicular to the river and a two-person inflatable kayak was seen resting on top of the middle of the dam on June 9, nearly a week after the accident.

“This section of the river is really scenic,” Hogan said. “It’s also really dangerous.”

Hogan, who lives nearby, said that it is common for boaters to float that section of the river, but most aim for the far left side of the river. The kayak seen resting on the dam on Friday was on the right side of the river, near the fish hatchery.

Members from the Klickitat County Search and Rescue, Glenwood Fire Department, and Klickitat County Department of Emergency Management aided in the search, according to the press release. Other boaters and community volunteers joined law enforcement officials and scoured nearby roads, trails and anywhere accessible by foot, but none could locate Sridhar.