A swimmer who was near drowning in the Cowlitz River was rescued by the driver of a personal watercraft Tuesday afternoon.
A 911 call came in at about 5:30 p.m. reporting a man was in the Cowlitz River about 3 miles north of Kelso and was drowning.
Cowlitz Sheriff Deputy Derek Baker was immediately in the area. He is a certified boat operator and had rescue equipment with him. Deputy Baker took his "throw rope" to the river and threw it to the man.
At the same time there was a local resident who was on a waverunner who showed up. The victim was going under the surface of the water and was rescued just in time. The man on the waverunner turned out to be Eric O'Neill, the brother of Cowlitz Deputy Danny O'Neill.
The victim was exhausted and could not move.
The name of the victim, or his condition is unknown, but he did not appear to have any other obvious injuries other than total exhaustion.