Kris Wood, right, stands while his wife, Julie, background center, and her children, Tyler Gleason, 12, background left, and Jordan, 9, background right, float Tuesday afternoon — three days after Wood almost drowned and their friend, Elesha Newton, died at Cline Falls.

CLINE FALLS — Kris Wood stood on the banks of the Deschutes River on Tuesday, wading into the water close to where the 31-year-old Redmond resident nearly drowned about three days ago.

His 17-year-old friend, Elesha Newton, of Redmond, was not so lucky. She died Saturday night, despite CPR attempts. Newton, her 17-year-old boyfriend, Wood and his wife had all floated a nearby stretch of the river three other times during the day.

“It was our last run,” said Wood, whose name and age were originally reported incorrectly by the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office. “But we decided to keep going.”

The Woods moved to Redmond from Alaska in November.

Wood met Newton several months ago through his 29-year-old brother, who got to know the Edwin Brown High School junior and her boyfriend at a skate park in Redmond.

They all spent time together, skating, floating and playing computer games.

Wood said he and Newton had no relationship.

“Ellie is not my companion,” he said. “She’s my friend.”

The Woods had come to Cline Falls State Scenic Viewpoint many times, Wood said. Typically, they would float about 30 minutes downstream to the parking lot, then come ashore. Saturday was the first time that the Wood had floated with Newton and her boyfriend.

“This is where we always got out,” said Wood’s wife, Julie. “We’ve made dozens of trips right here.”

They arrived at about 1 p.m. Saturday and floated three times that day. Wood said he used a one-person Coleman raft, and Newton floated on a camping mattress.

After the third float that day, Wood’s wife and Newton’s boyfriend decided to take a break, but Wood and Newton wanted to keep going. Wood had not gone farther downstream than the parking lot before.

After drinking two beers during the day, Wood got into the water with Newton around 7:30 p.m. He said as far as he knew, she had not been drinking. Wood added that he had no idea Cline Falls was nearby — about 1/2 mile north, outside of the park and on the other side of state Highway 126.

“I always thought falls were upstream,” said Wood, an account manager at Community Broadband. “There’s no signs.”

The two floated about 5 feet apart for about 30 minutes before Wood saw Newton beginning to accelerate on the water. She went around a corner, and he heard a scream.

Wood immediately rolled off his raft and clung to a nearby rock. He started yelling, hoping to hear Newton or get some help.

“I crossed my fingers,” he said. “I was hoping she’d pop back up with a smile.”

Wood waited for about two hours before rescue crews could pull him out, according to previous Bulletin reports.

Newton’s death prompted the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office to plan a meeting with the Oregon Marine Board about whether to add signs or other markings to the river, Sgt. Marvin Combs said.

“We’re looking into this,” added Combs, who said Tuesday there is no criminal investigation on the drowning. “We want to do something, but we’re not sure what we can and can’t do.”

Wood is hoping to gather information from Central Oregonians about other rivers or lakes that might have no signs or pose safety concerns. There are currently no signs on the Deschutes either at the park area or downstream leading up to the falls warning about the hazard, according to previous Bulletin reports.

Wood hopes to change that.

He is hoping people will report dangerous conditions on local rivers or other areas by calling 526-3532 or e-mailing riversafety@communitybroadband.com.

“I’m trying to raise awareness,” he said. “Unfortunately, this is how it happened. Somebody has to die to put a sign up.”