Kootenai County sheriff warns of water danger following weekend drowning on Spokane River

The Kootenai County sheriff at a news conference Friday commended a rescue attempt by deputies to save a drowning man over the Fourth of July weekend and urged the public to practice water safety.

At about 2 p.m. July 1, marine deputies patrolling the Spokane River were flagged down near the beach at North Idaho College. Someone had gone beneath the water and had not come up for two minutes.

Deputy Jordan Joling jumped in the water and searched for the swimmer.

The wind was pushing the officials’ boat down the river, so Joling returned to the boat, where the other deputies secured a rope around her, she said

Someone shouted and pointed where the swimmer was.

Joling jumped back in, located the drowning man, brought him back to the surface and then to the boat. Deputies took him to shore to perform lifesaving measures until he was transported to Kootenai Health, where he died.

The victim was identified as Ismail Bilmece, a 35-year-old man from Spokane Valley.

“She did an outstanding job,” Sheriff Bob Norris said of Joling. “She compromised her own safety and health in an effort to rescue and revive this gentleman.”

Lt. Justin Arts, who is in charge of the marine division, said rescuing a submerged body without any flotation or diving gear is both “very difficult” and “very dangerous.”

Bilmece was about 10 feet below the surface.

Joling usually performs surface support during rescues and is not trained as a rescue diver.

“To do this is nothing but heroism,” Arts said. “It’s just something that in the moment she saw the need, and so she filled that need.”

The incident remains under investigation, and it is not clear whether there were other factors that led to the drowning, such as alcohol.

Arts said alcohol is often a factor in boating and waterfront incidents in Kootenai County.

“We would like to remind you, if you are out on the water, if you are out enjoying what Northern Idaho provides, do it safely, do it responsibly,” he said.

Swimmers consuming alcohol should wear life jackets, and boaters consuming alcohol should have a sober driver, authorities said.

Of 34 water-related citations or arrests during the holiday week, 50% were issued to out-of-state recipients. Seventeen were from Idaho, 11 were from Washington and six were from other states.

Those figures are similar to recent years, Norris said, adding that increased emergency calls from people from out of state stresses the marine division, which is understaffed.

“They are stretched pretty thin,” he said. “They all work a degree of overtime. We are confident they will be able to make our waterways as safe as possible.”