- Moses Lake, WA
A 44-year-old man died Sunday due to suspected drowning in a Moses Lake irrigation canal.
Joshua Griffen, listed as a transient, was traveling with a friend when they decided to swim in an irrigation canal near the 3000 block of Road 4-Northeast. Griffen was swept away by the current and went under. Emergency responders from Grant County Fire District #5and AMR recovered Griffen’s body and attempted life-saving measures, but Griffen died at the scene.
Griffen’s body is in the care of Coroner Craig Morrison, whose staff will conduct an autopsy. Griffen's family has been notified.
Sheriff’s deputies remind everyone that irrigation canals are extremely dangerous. It’s very difficult to assess the strength of the current, which can easily overpower even the most skilled swimmer.
This is the second irrigation canal drowning in Grant County this summer. In June, an 18-year-old Ephrata teen drowned in an irrigation canal near Ephrata.