On the same day that a missing kayaker’s remains were identified, authorities in Oregon announced the recovery of eight bodies from Multnomah County rivers this spring.
Since April 1, 2025, eight bodies have been recovered. The Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office announced in a press release on Monday, May 5, that six more bodies were recovered than in April and May 2024. “The number is not unusual, though it is tragic.”
Authorities stated that the medical examiner is still investigating the causes of death for those who died, but “the majority of the eight bodies recovered this April and May are the result of drowning caused by suicide.”
The sheriff’s office also stated that there is no reason to believe the deaths were caused by “suspicious activity” or that the bodies recovered from the Willamette and Columbia Rivers are connected.
On the same day, the Clackamas County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed the missing kayaker’s identity as Marcelus Angelo Rodriguez, a 20-year-old California man who went missing on Saturday, April 12.
Rodriguez went kayaking on the Willamette River that evening and was later seen in “distress,” according to 911 calls received just before 11:00 p.m. local time, the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release on April 17. “A short time later, witnesses stated the individual, a lone adult male, was seen going over the falls and did not resurface,” according to the police.
Rodriguez’s body was discovered more than two weeks later in the Willamette River, according to authorities.
On Sunday, May 4, officers were dispatched after receiving reports of a body along the river’s shore, “just north of Meldrum Bar Park in Gladstone,” according to the sheriff’s office. “The deputies then found the body in “a difficult to reach location along the shoreline.”
“The Marine Unit was able to access the location using boats and recover Marcelus,” officials stated, adding that “family notifications have been completed.”
The Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office had no additional information to provide. The Multnomah County Medical Examiner’s Office and the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s requests for comment.
According to reports, the recovery is one of several. Since April 13, six bodies have been discovered near bridges and Swan Island in the Willamette River, while two were recently recovered from the Columbia River, as reported by OregonLive.
The Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office stated on Monday that multiple factors contribute to the discovery of bodies in the spring, including rising water temperatures, the rate of water currents, and an increase in water activity.
In a statement released to the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office following Rodriguez’s disappearance, his family expressed their “truly devastated” feelings. They also warned others to “be aware of their surroundings”
“NEVER enter this river without wearing a life jacket or, at the very least, exercising extreme caution,” the couple continued, “as the forces of nature can quickly become overwhelming and deadly.”
