Family member finds body of teen in Johnson Creek | News

Top photo provided by the family of Shane Estorja.

UPDATED at 9 a.m. Thursday: Reporter Valerie Hurst says the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office told her that a family member located Shane Estorja's body at about 8:30 a.m.

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PORTLAND, Ore. - Water-rescue swimmers searched for a 15-year-old boy who jumped into Johnson Creek Wednesday night but authorities said it is now a "recovery operation."

The boy was with two other teenage boys when he decided to jump into the creek just before 8 p.m. near Southeast 45th Place and Harney. The boy surfaced at least once and then disappeared, authorities said.

Thursday morning, the missing teen was identified as Shane Estorja. He attended Milwaukie High School.

Clackamas County divers from the Swift Water Rescue team as well as Portland Fire and Rescue conducted the search.

Searchers combed the water just downstream from where Johnson Creek enters Tideman Johnson City Park.

They also searched above and below a dam where Estorja went into the water near a concrete bridge over Johnson Creek.

Kevin Boell said Estorja and several friends were there when three teenagers walked up. One said Estorja stated he was going to swim the creek and they warned him not to.

“He was like, ‘all right well, I just did this yesterday. I’m going to jump’. So he jumped in and went under and came back up, and I guess there’s an undertow and it sucked the breath right out of him,” said Boell. “(Estorja) came back up again, he was purple. Third time he came up he was just all lifeless. And we were trying to hang our bikes down and what not to try to save him.”

“The one that decided to go, to jump in and swim across, didn’t make it,” said Lt. Allen Oswalt, spokesman for the Portland Fire Bureau. “The other two witnessed that. They gave us a good identification spot where they last saw him bob up and that’s the parameters we’re working on right now.”

Water levels have been higher than normal because of the recent rains and debris caught near the bridge and dam made it difficult and dangerous for search teams.