A fishing trip on Lake Billy Chinook turned tragic Aug. 18, when a man experienced a cardiac event as he swam to retrieve his friend from their fishing boat as it drifted away into the lake.
Vaughn Alan Waugaman and a friend had spent the evening fishing on a small aluminum boat in Lake Billy Chinook, located about 12 miles from Madras. Returning to the boat ramp at the Crooked River Day-use Area around 6:48 p.m., Waugaman walked to his parked vehicle while his friend, who has intellectual and developmental disabilities, stayed in the boat, according to a press release from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.
That’s when the boat began floating away.
Waugaman, 56 and a Prineville resident, swam toward the boat; he knew his friend, whom he had mentored for years, was unable to operate it. In doing so, Waugaman suffered what emergency responders believe to have been a cardiac event. Two paddle boarders nearby were able to bring Waugaman back to shore where they initiated CPR. Jefferson County Fire & EMS arrived and also administered lifesaving measures. Airlink, one of two critical care transport providers operating in Central Oregon, landed its helicopter at the day-use area to help with resuscitation. Waugaman succumbed to the cardiac event.
Not mentioned in the press release is what happened to Waugaman’s friend. He’s OK, says Austin McEwen, who identified himself as the friend’s brother. McEwen updated folks expressing concern in the comments section of the post the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office made on Facebook, where it posts press releases.
Waugaman’s friend, whom the Source isn’t naming for privacy reasons, was wearing a life preserver and swam to shore, an employee at the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office confirmed.
“Vaughn has been a great mentor/friend to him,” McEwen wrote. “This was a very devastating incident for my family and Vaughn’s! My brother is OK but does not have the intellectual capability to understand the situation! Everyone stay safe out on the water.”
MAKE LOCAL JOURNALISM HAPPEN
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
