Spokane man lost under Palouse Falls

A swimmer is missing and presumed dead after Franklin County sheriff’s deputies say he did not surface from the water under Palouse Falls.

At about 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Franklin County dispatch received 911 calls that a 23-year-old man from Spokane was sucked under the raging waterfall while swimming with his friends, deputies wrote in a news release.

Two of the men, both in their early 20s, were also sucked under due to the strong current but were able to resurface. They both made it back to shore and were evaluated on scene by medical staff and were not injured.

As of Sunday afternoon, the 23-year-old has not been located.

Last year at the end of Memorial Day weekend, 25-year-old Cade Prophet was killed when he slipped and fell from a cliff and into a river just above the falls. His body was recovered a day later on May 30.

Since 1975, there have been at least two other confirmed fatalities at Palouse Falls State Park, according to a search of The Spokesman-Review archives.

On June 6, 1975, a woman slipped and fell about 500 feet to her death while sightseeing. Authorities said then that her death appeared accidental.

On June 17, 1985, a man drowned and another suffered back fractures after the two jumped from a rock outcropping at the top of the falls into the base. The mother of the deceased 22-year-old said the death was not a suicide attempt, nor was it accidental since her son liked to “live on the edge.”