The Kootenai County Sheriff's Department said a Post Falls man is dead after being swept away in the Spokane River Friday night.

Deputies said around 7 p.m. the 54-year-old man was swimming in the river near an area that had a swift current. According to witnesses, the man was then swept away and his wife started screaming for help.

Deputies said another man heard the woman's screams and tried to jump on and save the victim, but the water was too fast to swim across. The man said he tried using a cooler lid as a floatation device to get across; however, he started to get swept away as well and his friends had to save him.

Dive crew said they searched for an hour for the initial victim until they found his body downstream.

Deputies said the victim died at the scene.