PORTLAND, Ore. ( KOIN ) — The body of a man was discovered in the Willamette River on Friday evening following a recovery effort that began earlier this week.
Though the body has yet to be officially identified by the Oregon State Medical Examiner, the Salem Police Department said in a release he is tentatively being identified as 35-year-old Salem resident Derik Morganstern.
The body was found by a volunteer dive team in the early evening, officials said. They had been searching the river for Morganstern after he was presumed drowned on Monday.
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According to witnesses, Morganstern is believed to have accidentally drowned after going into the water to help a woman who had jumped into the river from the Union Street Pedestrian Bridge and was struggling to swim. While the woman ultimately survived, the witnesses said Morganstern never resurfaced.
“Officers located the woman who made it shore. She was transported to the hospital,” Salem police said in a release.