The Sandy River is a near-perfect getaway not 20 miles from downtown Portland. Hundreds of people make the trek past Troutdale to cool off in the river’s milky waters and relax on its sandy beaches.

But that indulgence has proven deadly.

Four Sandy River swimmers have drowned in the last month, including a seven-year-old girl and her father who died Tuesday night.

Jenni Fernandez-Suarez, 7, and Erislandy Fernandez-Sanchez, 42, were near Dabney State Recreation Area when the girl’s tube flipped and her father tried to save her, according to the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies tried to revive the father and daughter, who were rushed to a hospital and pronounced dead, deputies said.

“This weighs heavy on all of us,” Sheriff Mike Reese said in a statement. “Losing a child, let (alone) two family members in a moment, is unimaginable.”

Jose Pascual, 21, also drowned near Dabney State Recreation Area on June 29, and Jose Marcelino Castillo-Pacheco, 33, drowned at Oxbow Park on July 10.

Authorities said none of the drowning victims were wearing life jackets when they were found.

Rivers throughout the region present dangers to swimmers. But the glacier-fed Sandy River has colder-than-average temperatures, a rocky bottom and fast waters that make the river more dangerous than some others, sheriff’s office spokesperson Chris Liedle said.

At least one person drowned in the river last year, and at least two drowned in 2019. An Oregonian/OregonLive analysis of summer drownings from 2006 to 2017 includes 12 more such deaths.

American Medical Response lifeguards stationed at Glenn Otto Park near Troutdale have already helped over 150 people at risk of drowning this year, said lifeguard Reid Stubbs.

“Everybody should be in a life jacket on the river,” Stubbs said.

“Nobody goes into the river thinking that they’re going to be a drowning victim.”Lifeguards are posted at the popular park from Memorial Day to Labor Day. But no lifeguards are stationed at Oxbow or Dabney parks.

Life jackets, meanwhile, are provided at state and regional recreation sites along the river, including Oxbow, Dabney and Glenn Otto parks.

But not all people swim at designated parks. Some, like those who drowned Tuesday, access the river in places where life jackets aren’t provided.

The father and daughter were swimming near Stark Street Bridge, where Stubbs said the water takes a sudden drop — becoming 12 to 15 feet deep.

Tuesday’s drownings “could have been prevented if both of those subjects were in life jackets, 100%,” Stubbs said.

The family of the father and daughter have set up an online crowdfunding campaign to pay for funeral expenses. The GoFundMe had raised over $9,500 as of Wednesday evening.