On January 22, 2024, 28-year-old Mason Joseph Lawing capsized with two friends during a recreational boating trip on the South Umpqua River in Roseburg, Oregon. The river was running high after heavy rain and the boat overturned in treacherous conditions. His two companions reached shore, but Lawing was seen carried away by the swift current.

Law enforcement and rescue teams tracked his downstream course and deployed a rescue boat that was closing on his location. Observers then saw the current pull him beneath the surface and he did not reappear. Continued searches in the days afterward failed to locate him.

The Roseburg Police Department is the primary investigating agency. The community and Lawing’s family were left devastated by the outcome. Did anyone witness the boat before it capsized or have information about that stretch of the South Umpqua River on January 22?