An 18-year-old Elma man identified as Cole R. Hendrickson drowned in the Chehalis River Thursday.

Acting Grays Harbor County Coroner Robert Kegel said the drowning was accidental.

A 17-year-old Elma woman reported she was swimming with Hendrickson near the South Elma Bridge when he became distressed and disappeared below the surface.

The Grays Harbor Sheriff’s Office, Fire District 5, Elma Fire Department and other agencies searched more than nine hours before he was found dead at 9:11 p.m.

The temperature in Elma was in the 90s and the water was about 54 degrees, “which can be stressful on even the strongest of swimmers,” said Grays Harbor Undersheriff Dave Pimental.