This day in history: In two-year period, 14 people die in Spokane River

From 1975: The Spokane River claimed at least 14 lives over two years and it was, in the words of the county sheriff, “the most dangerous place to play in the county.”

The Spokesman-Review noted that when it came to lives lost, “the river does not discriminate.”

Some of the victims were swimmers, some were rafters, some were canoeists, one was a rock climber, and the most recent was an inner-tuber who fell out of his tube and was unable to swim to shore. Others were people who simply walked into the river as a means of dying by suicide.

The most unnerving category? Murder victims.

Police noted that the river was an obvious choice for murderers wishing to dispose of a body.

When the river was at its highest and coldest, even life jackets were not a sufficient safety precaution. Three persons wearing life jackets had drowned near Plante’s Ferry Park.

From 1925: Lt. Fring, reserve officer and forest patrol flyer, and Sgt. Holter, master mechanic, barely escaped with their lives when their plane flew into a 6,900 -volt high tension Washington Water Power line.

The mishap took place shortly after the plane took off from Parkwater. The motor almost immediately stopped.

Pilot Fring was forced to attempt an emergency landing in the Spokane River near the Millwood Bridge. The pilot was unable to see the high tension line, hidden by the bridge. The plane became tangled in the line and went down midriver.

The two men were able to escape from the plane unhurt and swim to the riverbank. Fortunately, there was no damage from the electric current.

The government plane, however, was a total loss.