Man Drowns In Spokane River At Post Falls

A local man drowned at Corbin Park on Sunday evening when he tried to cross the Spokane River in blue jeans.

Police said the man was reportedly drinking heavily throughout the day, and that he didn’t know how to swim well. Shortly after authorities arrived around 6 p.m., divers went in and found the man, brought him to shore and tried to resuscitate him.

After several minutes, one of the officials said, “We’re done.”

Few onlookers actually saw what happened Sunday. But Rod Schierman was playing baseball across the parking lot from the river.

“We heard somebody yelling for a rope,” Schierman said.

He and the rest of the players ran to the beach, where the man who had gone under water couldn’t be seen. But Schierman did see the man’s brother go in after him.

Soon after that, the brother needed help, too.

“He was struggling, going under,” Schierman said. “I said `Are you OK?’ then I signaled: `OK?”’ The man didn’t answer, so Schierman dove in and dragged him out.

“When I got to him, it was hard swimming,” Schierman said.

Sgt. Andy Boyle with the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department said the man who drowned was wearing jeans. Schierman said the man he pulled out was also wearing jeans, and wool socks.

The current at that section of the Spokane River can be tricky, Boyle said, but the area is safe for swimmers.

The water temperature was probably in the 60s, Boyle said, and there hadn’t been a drowning there in the last four or five years.

The man’s name was not released because some family members had not yet been notified. He was believed to have been in his late 20s or early 30s.

Several members of the man’s family were at Corbin Park picnicking when the drowning occurred. Afterward, they huddled, eyes wet, hands clenched together, pacing back and forth.

One man walked slowly to the edge of the beach. He had a long, white towel wrapped around him, and he shivered when he stood still.

The man stopped, sat by the bank for a good five minutes, just looking at the water. Then he walked back up the hill, where a long, painful embrace awaited him.

Emergency personnel stood around a picnic table, going over their actions, asking each other if anything could have happened differently.

Finally, there was nothing more that could be done.

One by one, the family’s cars filed out of the parking lot, some drivers weeping, others expressionless.

Said one boy in the park, “I had just met him.”

Cut in the Spokane Edition.