They were enjoying a summer evening near Mount Baker when the Nooksack swept him away

An evening enjoying the view near Mount Baker and the North Fork of the Nooksack River nearly turned tragic for one man Wednesday east of Maple Falls.

Whatcom County Fire Districts 14 and 19 responded at 9:46 p.m. to 8444 Mount Baker Highway for a report of a person who went missing under the water. By the the time crews arrived, he’d already been missing 30 to 40 minutes, District 14 Chief Jerry Debruin said.

Debruin said crews found a truck belonging to the man on a vista near the Mount Baker Bibleway Camp, and shortly later located the man down a steep 30- to 40-foot embankment below the truck.

After a rope rescue to get the man back up to the road, Debruin said the man and a woman he was with were transported to the hospital for non-life-threatening exposure.

“We’re pretty familiar with the area, because we’ve had a couple of searches and water rescues in the area before,” Debruin said.

Debruin said the man and woman apparently decided to walk on a trail about 500 to 700 yards from the truck, to an area that had better river access.

He said they were “messing around” in shallow parts of the river and the man reportedly got into a deeper, swifter moving current and was swept downstream.

He apparently was able to climb onto the river bank.

The woman, meanwhile, hiked back to Mount Baker Highway, flagged down a car and called for help.

Debruin said the rope rescue was not particularly difficult, though crews did have to be wary of the river rushing nearby.

“It’s been nice out there, so people are still going to be tempted to get in the river,” Debruin said. “This just shows they need to be cautious.”

This story was originally published September 6, 2018 at 11:22 AM.