Cortes

NEWBERG - A Newberg man who drowned Monday in the Willamette River off Rogers Landing had been drinking all morning, didn't know how to swim and wasn't wearing a life jacket, according to Capt. Ken Summers of the Yamhill County Sheriff's Office.

The victim was identified as Oscar Cortes-Perez, 36, who had made his home in Newberg for about 10 years. Summers said he fell off an air mattress.

Sheriff Jack Crabtree said Cortes had been living with friends, as most of his family remained behind in Mexico.

"He was quite well thought of in Newberg," Crabtree said. "He was a longtime employee at a gas station in Newberg that's no longer in business."

The sheriff gave this account:

County sheriff's deputies were joined by the county's Marine Patrol, the city's Water Rescue Team and city police and fire personnel in responding about 1:30 p.m.

Divers located Cortes about 12 minutes after he fell in. Deputies pulled him into a Marine Patrol boat and rushed him to shore.

Medics began administering CPR on site and continued to do so during the ensuing run to Newberg's Providence Newberg Medical Center. However, they were unable to resuscitate the victim.

Cortes, wearing jeans, socks and tennis shoes with no shirt, fell in about 40 feet from shore.

"He was on a small, thin, cheap air mattress," Summers said. "He lost his balance trying to stay on it, started tipping and fell off."

Deputies Christina Eastman and Dave Palen were nearby in a boat. They responded immediately, and were soon joined by members of the dive team.

"There were some qualified rescuers who found him right away, but he had already been in the water too long," Summers said.

Crabtree called it a "preventable death," given the circumstances. He urged residents taking to the water to beat the heat to exercise caution.