07/20/2008

cenjc1-o / Associated Press

A 31-year-old man has drowned after jumping from a railroad trestle into the Chehalis River.

Friends of the man say he surfaced briefly and then vanished on Saturday afternoon.

A Lewis County sheriff's deputy who is also a diver retrieved the body just a few minutes after his arrival.

County Fire District 6 Chief Bud Goodwillie says the train trestle is about 15 feet above the water.

Deputy Coroner Wayne Mummert says there were logs in the water in the area that were not visible until an hour or so after the drowning.

The sheriff's office says it believes the man's death was an accidental drowning.

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Information from: The Chronicle, http://www.chronline.com