Man hospitalized after being pulled from Spokane River near Boulder Beach

A man was hospitalized in unknown condition after he was pulled from the bottom of the Spokane River on Tuesday afternoon.

Reports of an adult male swimmer in distress came in around 3 p.m. from the beach  along Upriver Drive, according to a Spokane County Sheriff’s Office news release.

Initial information indicates the male was not wearing a life jacket when he found himself too far away from shore and began to have difficulties, the release said. 

One witness, Joshua McGlothlen, said he floated across the river from the beach in an intertube when he heard the young man calling out “I’m tired” to his two friends.

“I’ve never felt so hopeless in my whole life,” McGlothlen said. “I was just too far away. I couldn’t help.”

Members of the sheriff’s office dive team members, with the assistance of Spokane City Fire Water Rescue Team members in kayaks, located the male underwater.

Once at the surface, Fire Swift Water Rescue personnel in kayaks shuttled the victim to shore, where he was immediately provided medical care and life-saving efforts.