An 18-year-old Elma man drowned in the Chehalis River last Thursday, county officials said.

The man was identified by acting Grays Harbor County Coroner Robert Kegel as Cole A. Hendrickson.

Kegel said the drowning was accidental.

A 17-year-old Elma woman who was swimming with Hendrickson near the South Elma Bridge Thursdayreported the two were swimming across the river to a gravel bar when the young man became distressed. She tried to help him before swimming to shore to retrieve a piece of pallet to help, but the man soon disappeared under the surface.

The Grays Harbor Sheriff’s Office, Fire District 5 and the Elma Fire Department deployed resources to the area and the search took more than nine hours. A Sheriff’s Office boat was launched in an attempt to locate the victim. A request was made to the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office for an assist with their dive team. Numerous personnel, a boat, a drone and several Thurston County divers proceeded to search for the male subject, who was located deceased under water at about 9:11 p.m.

“Family members were on scene,” said Grays Harbor Undersheriff Dave Pimental. “This was a very tragic event for all involved.”

Yesterday’s temperature in Elma was in the 90’s and the water temperature was approximately 54 degrees below the surface, “which can be stressful on even the strongest of swimmers,” said Pimental.

Pimental added, “We would like to thank all of the first responders that assisted with this operation, especially our Region 3 partners from the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office Dive Team.”