An Aberdeen man jumped into, and then was retrieved from, the Wishkah River on Sunday while attempting to evade police.

Riverine evasion is considered ill-advised by law enforcement, said Cmdr. Steve Timmons of the Aberdeen Police Department. The man, Travis Durham, 29, was taken into custody without any injuries, Timmons said.

“He was trespassing. The staff at Walmart recognized him as trespassing previously and they called us,” Timmons said. “He just took off running.”

Durham jumped into the Wishkah River near the Heron Street Bridge, clinging to a wooden structure that was part of the bridge, until officers were able to contact him and assist him out of the water, Timmons said.

“Our officers spoke with him and convinced him to come out peacefully,” Timmons said. “He was arrested, handcuffed, brought back to the station.”

Aberdeen firefighters checked Durham for injuries, but cleared him, Timmons said. Durham is still in custody in the Aberdeen city jail as of Tuesday for criminal trespass, resisting arrest and obstruction of a law enforcement officer.

While no one that he could recall has drowned while attempting to evade arrest, Timmons said, it’s still a terrible idea.

“Don’t jump in the river. It’s not them risking their lives,” Timmons said. “We’re not going away. We’ll reach out to our local resources to get a boat.”

Cases involving a suspect jumping in the river to attempt to evade arrest have gone up of late, Timmons said.

“It seems to be more common now than it has been in the past,” Timmons said. “I know we’ve had a few so far this year.”

Contact Senior Reporter Michael S. Lockett at 757-621-1197 or mlockett@thedailyworld.com.