Clarence Yazzie apparently had been arguing with his wife about whether he could swim, so he plunged into the Jordan River on Monday afternoon to prove he could.
But then he disappeared under water and did not come up.
Yazzie, 39, 1440 W. 1300 South, was pulled from the frigid waters almost two hours after he jumped in. He had been walking along the bank of the river with his wife when he jumped into the water, said Salt Lake Fire Capt. Dan Andrus. Yazzie was pronounced dead at 6:45 p.m. at LDS Hospital, a nursing supervisor said.His wife, Arlene, told officials she and her husband had been drinking but not heavily and that her husband was not suicidal.
Andrus said Yazzie's wife watched him splash into about the middle of the river before she ran for help. "She jumped in their truck and drove home to call us," he said.
But Yazzie was nowhere in sight when rescue workers got to the river. Firefighters and Salt Lake police officers blocked off the river from 200 South to 1300 South and began combing the area for the missing man. Meanwhile, Salt Lake County search and rescue workers began searching the river for him.
Rescuers found his body about 50 feet from where his wife said he jumped in.
"They located him with grappling hooks," Andrus said. The rescuers who found him were in a boat. "They pulled him into the boat, took him to an ambulance and then to LDS Hospital."
Though the waters of the river seemed placid, rescuers said there was a moderately strong undercurrent. Because the water was so cold, Andrus said, they attempted to revive Yazzie in hopes that his metabolism had slowed down in time to save him.
His wife and family members saw him being dragged from the muddy water, Andrus said. They were attended to by counselors from Valley Mental Health.