Oregon State Police Rescue Man Clinging to River Buoy

The man reportedly had a core body temperature of 92 degrees upon is arrival at the hospital.

Photo: Oregon State Police

(MILWAUKIE, Ore. ) - A Tualatin man was rescued Thursday afternoon by Oregon State Police Fish & Wildlife officers and a US Fisheries agent when they spotted the exhausted, hypothermic man attempting to cling to a buoy in the middle of the Willamette River near Elk Rock Island in the Milwaukie-area.

At approximately 12:25 PM OSP Sergent Chris Allori, Senior Trooper Roger Edwards and a US fisheries agent were conducting a routine fisheries patrol on the Willamette River near Elk Rock Island.

While operating the boat upstream, Sergeant Allori spotted a man in the water who appeared to be trying to grab ahold of a buoy in the middle of the river.

Motoring closer to the buoy they saw 34-year-old David Briggs II, trying to grasp ahold of the buoy but unable to hold onto it.

Briggs was wearing jeans, t-shirt, tennis shoes and had no life preserver or any other flotation device.

Officers threw Briggs a type four flotation cushion and pulled him onto the OSP patrol vessel.

Briggs was transported to the Milwaukie Boat Ramp where rescue personnel attended to him before transporting him to Milwaukie Providence Hospital.

Briggs reportedly had a core body temperature of 92 degrees upon is arrival at the hospital and was treated for hypothermia.

Briggs told OSP officers that he had been hiking on Elk Rock Island when he thought someone was firing a weapon at him (this was later found to be fireworks).

Briggs said he entered the river and started swimming. He was at least two hundred yards from the nearest shoreline when spotted.