MOUNT HOOD NATIONAL FOREST -- A man was swept into the Sandy River Tuesday when heavy rain caused a flash flood that took out the bridge he was standing on along the Ramona Falls trail, according to the Hoodland Fire Chief.
The washout also trapped 23 hikers who had yet to cross the bridge.
The victim was hiking in the area with his wife. She was not swept into the water. Their names have not been released.
Witnesses said the man was standing alone on a temporary bridge when the river level suddenly rose and he was carried downstream, along with wood from the bridge.
The body of the 35-year-old man was found about a mile downstream of Ramona Falls, according to the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office.
The bridge was washed out around 3 p.m. and was reported after witnesses hiked out a mile to the trail head parking lot, then drove several miles before getting a cell signal.
The trapped hikers were rescued over a span of several hours by crews using swift water rescue inflatable boats and a series of ropes.
Responding agencies and crews included Mountain Wave Communications, Pacific Northwest Search and Rescue, Sandy Fire, Gladstone Fire, Lake Oswego Fire, Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue, Clackamas County Fire District 1, Clackamas County Dive Rescue, US Forest Service, Oregon State Police, and Clackamas County Search and Rescue.
