Emergency crews work late into night, rescue two people from Snoqualmie River in Middle Fork area

There was a large, time-intensive emergency swift water rescue along Lake Dorothy Road, east of North Bend Monday night, May 18, 2020.

Approximately 30 crew members from Eastside Fire & Rescue (EF&R), the Snoqualmie Fire Department and the King County Sheriff’s Office responded to the Middle Fork area for the rescue involving two females who had fallen into the Snoqualmie River.

The call came in at 7:17PM. Once at the remote scene, a drone was used to assist in the search.

One female was quickly located and rescued, according to EF&R Public Information Officer Steven Johnson.

Initially it was thought the other female had made it out of the river on her own and had left the scene. Johnson explained this was because her car was gone from where they were told it was parked.

It was discovered, though, that the second female was still in the water. She was located some time later and extracted from the river.

It then took approximately two hours for crews to get her out of the remote, rough terrain area and back to the trailhead where an ambulance was waiting.

The female was evaluated at the scene and transported to a local hospital for possible hypothermia treatment.

Johnson did not know what caused the pair to fall into the river. The rescue was complicated by radio communication issues due to the remote location. The scene wrapped up around 11:15PM.