Deschutes River level to drop to aid search for Dillon Falls victim

Published 5:19 pm Thursday, July 31, 2025

Central Oregon irrigators are dropping the level of water in the Deschutes River starting Friday to aid the recovery efforts for the last victim still missing after a group of tourists floated over Dillon Falls on July 19.

The bodies of two women were previously recovered, but a man from the group has remained missing as search and recovery efforts have continued over the past two weeks.

According to a release from the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, the river below the falls, where the first two victims were recovered, has been thoroughly searched, but handlers have had recent alerts from their search dogs in the upper section of the rapids.

Swift water technicians will move into position as soon as the water levels begin to recede on Friday, the sheriff’s office said. The agency hopes that with lower water levels, search and rescue teams will be able to survey areas of interest that were not previously safe for dive operations.

“Over the past two weeks, our deputies and Search & Rescue teams have conducted an extensive search using every available resource — including swiftwater rescue technicians, professional divers, side scan sonar, remote-operated submersible, drones, aerial searches, and specially trained Human Remains Detection Dogs,” said Sheriff Ty Rupert in a news release. “The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office remains committed to locating the third victim.”

The missing floater was part of a group of six people who were floating a calm stretch of the Deschutes River above Dillon Falls, about 10 miles west of Bend, on July 19. After missing the last take-out point, three of the floaters survived by jumping from their tubes and swimming to shore while the other three were swept over the falls.

In the days after the accident, the two other victims — Amanda Loyd, 40, and Lindsay Bashan, 33 — were located by search and rescue teams.

The flow in the Deschutes River — which is largely controlled by the dam operators at Wickiup Reservoir — is at a seasonal high due to increased demand for agricultural water in the summer months. The flow of water at Benham Falls, around 3.5 miles upstream from Dillon Falls, was 1,691 cubic feet per second when the accident occurred. In winter the flow in this section river drops to around 500 cubic feet per second.

The Deschutes Basin Board of Control — made of of irrigators who rely on Deschutes River water — says that river-goers should expect reduced flow and lower water levels through Monday.

Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Jason Carr said it is unclear why the group missed the many signs posted above Dillon Falls that warn against the dangerous stretch of river ahead. While it is common to float the calm stretch of water above Dillon Falls, the final takeout point is just above the falls themselves, which are 15 feet tall.The rapids below are considered expert-level whitewater.

The Deschutes River is notorious for long stretches of calm water that quickly turn into fast-moving rapids. In 2022, Maximillian Zelaya, 41, died while floating over Dillon Falls in an inner tube. Earlier this year, a La Pine woman died after getting trapped in the rapids at Pringle Falls while paddleboarding.