Family of six swept downstream rescued on Upper Cle Elum River

ELLENSBURG -- A family of six who were swept downstream and became stranded on a logjam on the Upper Cle Elum River was rescued by a Kittitas County sheriff's boat Sunday, the sheriff's office said Monday.

Responding to a call from members of the group who were swept downriver, the Sheriff's Swift-Water Rescue Team launched one of the Jet Boats to search for the family -- reported to be  two adults and four small children -- about an hour before sundown Sunday. The family was located in the middle of one of the worst log jams in the county, the sheriff's office said.

"It is a blessing no one was injured," one of the rescuers said.

All of the victims, their rafts visible in the photograph, were pulled onto the boat and reunited with their friends.