Man dies after getting entangled in milfoil

KENNEWICK -- A 22-year-old man died when he apparently became entangled in thick milfoil in the Columbia River in southeast Washington.

Police say the man was visiting the Tri-Cities area with three friends when they decided to go for a late-night swim Friday in the river near the Kennewick boat launch.

The man apparently was not a strong swimmer and got caught in a bed of milfoil -- an invasive weed that grows in many Washington rivers and lakes.

Scott Pattison, a spokesman for the Columbia Basin Dive Rescue team, says milfoil can act like quicksand and pull you under if you get tangled in it and begin to struggle.

The man's identity was not immediately available, but the Benton County Coroner's Office says he died from drowning.

Divers recovered his body Saturday in about 10 to 12 feet of water.

Pattison says people should stay in designated swimming areas on the river, and wear life jackets.