Missing and endangered man from California drowns Wednesday in Devils Churn south of Yachats

By GARRET JAROS/Lincoln Chronicle

YACHATS – The body of a California man was pulled from Devils Churn on Wednesday afternoon after being spotted that morning floating face down in the water.

Two hikers spotted the body and called 9-1-1 about 9:18 a.m. after leaving to get a cell signal, according to the Oregon State Police. Responders from Yachats Rural Fire Protection District were first on the scene but were unable to retrieve the man as his body floated with the tide in and out of the narrowest part of the basalt fissure.

The U.S. Coast Guard was notified but were unavailable until later in the afternoon, so the Lincoln County Technical Rescue team, which specializes in high angle and cliffside rope rescues, was dispatched.

“We are working on identification but we have reason to believe it was somebody reported missing and endangered out of the California bay area,” said state police Lt. Joey Pollard. The man’s identification was confirmed after his body was recovered.

Shortly after arriving on the scene, state police determined a black Subaru with California plates in the parking lot was connected with the man. His identification was later confirmed by the Lincoln County medical examiner seeing a photo sent from one of the two California agencies that had issued the alert, Pollard said.

The cause of death has not yet been released but there was no obvious trauma to the body to indicate anything beyond drowning, police and fire officials said. The victim’s name and age will not be released until family can be notified.

Yachats Fire assistant chief Jeff Mathia, who shared incident command with the state police because it was technically a crime scene, said firefighters responded after the 9-1-1 call in but then cleared the scene until they were called back when the rescue team was activated.

The man was finally pulled from the water and onto the rocks at approximately 12:50 p.m. Mathia said it didn’t appear the man had been in the water for very long.

A Coast Guard rescue helicopter was eventually posted on standby in case the body needed to be hoisted from the water – and did a flyby – but was not dispatched.

“The ropes team did an amazing job,” Pollard said. “That crew is amazing and can’t get enough credit.”

A total of 19 first responders were on scene, Mathia said, 11 fire personnel, six state troopers and two U.S. Forest Service rangers. Responding agencies included Newport, Toledo, Siletz, Yachats and Seal Rock, some of whom were members of the technical rescue team. Central Oregon Coast Fire & Rescue covered the city of Yachats during the rescue.

The popular but treacherous tourist attraction was the scene of an accidental drowning of a California man in 2021 and the water rescue of a Florida man in 2024.

• Garret Jaros covers the communities of Yachats, Waldport, south Lincoln County and natural resources issues for Lincoln Chronicle and can be reached at [email protected]