Intensive search continues for Chicken Creek drowning victim

BREWSTER – In a multi-agency effort, search and rescue personnel and volunteers are conducting an intensive search for a 20-year-old Bridgeport man missing and presumed drowned in Washburn Pond five miles east of Brewster.

Alexander Bravo Marroquin was fishing with his 18-year-old brother, Jesus, Thursday evening, April 4, near the Chicken Creek Boat Launch on Washburn Pond, a 119-acre impoundment and part of the Washburn Island Wildlife Unit along the Columbia River, when the canoe the pair was fishing from overturned. Jesus was able to swim to shore but his older brother. Crews from the Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office, Okanogan County Search and Rescue (OCSAR), Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Colville Tribal Police searched the pond Thursday evening and Friday without success.

Okanogan County Sheriff Tony Hawley said a diver with a camera searched the murky waters Friday, April 5 during heavy rain but was unable to locate the victim. Hawley said searchers were back on the site Tuesday, April 9. A cadaver dog and drone were also brought in to assist in the search efforts.

More searchers convened at the boat launch Thursday, April 11, including a K9 unit from Columbia Basin Search Dogs, and another drone operator, Jason Ramos from the Methow Valley. At one point, three search craft were working the water and two drones overhead as volunteers continued to scour the waters.

OCSAR director Rick Balam said an estimated 100 volunteers from multiple counties have joined the effort.

Jesus Bravo Gonzalez, father of Alexander and Jesus, told The Quad that the young men often fished Washburn Lake for largemouth bass, bluegill and other species. Gonzalez, with family and friends, was on hand last Thursday as searchers continued their work. As of press time, no body has yet been recovered from the pond.