Boy, 10, collapses after Paulina Creek swim

A 10-year-old boy who collapsed and fell unconscious after swimming in Paulina Creek at McKay Crossing Falls south of Bend Friday evening was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, officials said.

Deschutes County 911 dispatchers got a call around 5:20 p.m. from a female who said her brother had collapsed after swimming at the swimming hole below the falls, located near McKay Campground off Forest Service Road 21, said sheriff’s Deputy Mike Biondi, assistant coordinator for Sheriff’s Search and Rescue.

Deputies, SAR personnel, Oregon State Police, Forest Service and La Pine Fire medics were sent, as dispatchers were told the boy was unconscious and pale in color.

The first deputies and medics arrived, climbed down a 15-foot embankment and waded across Paulina Creek in thigh-high water to reach the boy, whom Biondi did not identify.

The child was placed in a litter and transported back across the creek and up to a waiting La Pine Fire ambulance, he said. The boy was taken to St. Charles Medical Center-Bend with what Biondi described as non-life-threatening injuries.

Biondi said the initial investigation found the boy had been swimming in the creek with his father and sister when he got out of the water, told his father he wasn’t feeling well and was not speaking coherently.

The boy then collapsed and lost consciousness, and his sister called 911 to seek help, Biondi said.