Astoria-based Coast Guard rescue swimmer dies a week after accident off Washington coast

By The Oregonian/OregonLive

The U.S. Coast Guard rescue swimmer from Astoria injured during a rescue last month has died, according to the Coast Guard Helicopter Rescue Swimmer Association.

Rescue swimmer Tyler Jaggers was injured Friday, Feb. 27 during a medical evacuation for a stroke victim about 140 miles off Cape Flattery on the coast of northern Washington near the Canadian border, The Astorian newspaper reported.

Jaggers was taken to Victoria General Hospital in Victoria, B.C. and then placed on life support. He was then transferred to Madigan Army Medical Center at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Tacoma, according to the Coast Guard.

The rescue swimmer association said Friday that Jaggers had died Thursday. Jaggers’ parents were by his side, according to Sen. Suzanne Weber, R-Tillamook.

The Coast Guard did not specify what happened, citing an ongoing investigation. But Rick McElrath, board president and founder of the Coast Guard Helicopter Rescue Swimmer Association, told The Associated Press that Jaggers fell as he was being lowered to the deck from a helicopter. The association is a nonprofit dedicated to helping Coast Guard aviation veterans.

Weber shared her support for Jaggers’ family during Friday’s Senate session.

“To Tyler’s family, please know that Oregon stands behind you,” she said. “You are not alone.”

And she honored other rescue swimmers and the risks they take on behalf of Oregon coast residents and visitors.

“Rescue swimmers train relentlessly and deploy into the most demanding environments with a single purpose: to save others,” Weber said. “Colleagues, this is personal for many in my district and for my office. Along Oregon’s coast we know firsthand that if not for U.S. Coast Guard and the bravery of swimmers like Tyler, many more lives would have been lost at sea. Our thoughts are with his family, his air crew at station Astoria and the entire United States rescue swimmers’ brotherhood during this incredibly difficult time.”

Jaggers joined the Coast Guard in 2022 and was stationed in Astoria in April 2024, the Coast Guard said in a news release.

The Coast Guard posthumously awarded Jaggers the Distinguished Flying Cross, one of the highest military awards for heroism during aerial flight, the Coast Guard said. The Coast Guard said it is investigating the cause of Jaggers’ injuries.