Inspection Detail

Inspection: 115716771 - City Of Warrenton

Inspection Information - Office: Or-E-Portland - Safety 1 1054111

Investigation Summary

At approximately 7:50 a.m. on July 23, 1991, Employee #1 was observed by his supervisor traveling south on Highway 101 toward the water reservoir approximately 14 to 15 miles southeast of Warrenton, OR. At approximately 12:00 p.m., Employee #1's daughter called the supervisor to inform him that her father had not come home. She then drove to the Public Works Department shop and looked for her father's car. She did not locate it and later called the supervisor and informed him that the car was not there. After this phone call, the supervisor decided to drive to the shop to look for the city vehicle that Employee #1 had driven that day. He could not locate it, but did find Employee #1's private vehicle parked behind a gravel stockpile that had been overlooked by the daughter. After he found the car, he notified the patrol sergeant of the Warrenton Police Department. They drove to the reservoir to look for the city vehicle and Employee #1. Upon arrival, they located the city vehicle parked by the reservoir's entrance gate. They walked up to the reservoir's earthen bank but still could not locate Employee #1. They called for assistance, requesting bigger flood lights and a diving team to search the water. Employee #1's body was found 25 to 30 feet from the reservoir's edge, at the bottom in about 6 to 7 feet of water. Employee #1 did not know how to swim.

Keywords: DROWN, WATER