A man who became separated from his tubing group on the Green River was rescued after a nearly 2 1/2-hour search involving several south King County agencies.
A man who became separated from his tubing group on the Green River was rescued after a nearly 2 1/2-hour search involving several south King County agencies.
Emergency crews were dispatched around 10:47 p.m. Wednesday after members of a tubing group reported one person missing near Whitney Bridge in unincorporated King County, according to Mountain View Fire & Rescue.
An image of the rescue on Aug. 5, 2026. (Zone 3 PIOS)When firefighters arrived, they gathered information from the group to determine where the man was last seen and develop a search plan.
The King County Sheriff's Office (KCSO) also used cell phone location data to help narrow the search area.
Rescuers launched kayaks both upstream and downstream while the sheriff's office flew a drone equipped with forward-looking infrared, or FLIR, technology to search from the air.
Firefighters navigated the moving river in complete darkness as crews coordinated the search from the water, ground, and air.
At about 1:20 a.m. Thursday, crews found the man stranded on a rock in the river. He was rescued and taken to the Whitney Bridge boat launch, where King County Medic One evaluated him before releasing him at the scene.
Mountain View Fire & Rescue said the response included personnel from the King County Sheriff's Office, King County Medic One, Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority, South King Fire, Valley Regional Fire Authority, Renton Regional Fire Authority, Enumclaw Fire Department and Skyway Fire.
Fire officials said people heading to rivers and other waterways should wear a properly fitted U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket.
They also said that anyone who becomes separated from their group or stranded should stay in one location, if it is safe to do so, to improve the chances of being found quickly.
