Jeremy Cook of Oroville and Odessa, Wash. jumped from the trail bridge over the Similkameen River last Friday. His body was found two miles down river on Monday, according to Sheriff Frank Rogers. Photo by Gary DeVon

OROVILLE – The dead body of a man who jumped from the old Great Northern Railway bridge over the Similkameen River northwest of Oroville last Friday, was found early Monday morning.

“On Friday June 12 at around 9:30 p.m. the Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office was advised of a subject missing in the Similkameen River above Oroville,” said Sheriff Frank Rogers. “Apparently the subject, Jeremy W. Cook, 39, of Odessa and Oroville had been up at the river with friends when he decided to jump off the trail trestle above the river. He yelled to his friends below to “watch this’ before he jumped.”

Witnesses at the scene said that once Cook hit the water he attempted to try and swim and yelled, but was swept down stream. They lost sight of Cook and then called the Sheriff’s Office about an hour later, according to Rogers.

“Deputies, along with Search and Rescue and family members and friends searched Friday night and again on Saturday and Sunday but were not able to locate the man. Divers dove in several locations on Saturday, especially where their were strong eddies, but did not find any sign of Cook,” Rogers said. “They went back on Sunday and walked the shore.”

On Monday, June 15 at 9 a.m. family members located the body of Cook in a marshy area near the fish rearing pond near Oroville. Deputies responded to scene and recovered Cook’s body, said the sheriff.