BAKER COUNTY — A Baker City man died when the car he was driving went off a steep embankment near Huntington and landed in the snowmelt-swollen Burnt River.

Daniel Earl Marshall, 55, died in the crash, according to the Baker County Sheriff’s Office.

It’s not clear when the accident happened. The crew of a Union Pacific Railroad freight train reported a white vehicle in the river at 9:54 a.m. on Sunday, April 20.

Deputies and members of the sheriff’s office search and rescue team responded along with Huntington Fire Department, and officials saw a small white vehicle, apparently an SUV, in the river.

Sheriff Travis Ash said only the vehicle’s roof was visible in the murky water.

“After assessing the scene, Baker County Search and Rescue was deployed to conduct a ground search of the area,” according to the press release. “During the search, no victims were located along the banks of the river. Taking into consideration the water levels and swift current, it was determined that the Baker County Search and Rescue Ropes Team would respond the next day to assist the towing company with the retrieval of the vehicle.”

On April 21, the team set up a rope system with anchors stretching from the railroad bridge to Barber Road, upstream from the crash site. A search and rescue member was secured to the line and lowered onto the roof of the vehicle. He attached a towing line to the car, and Halfway Towing and Repair extricated the vehicle.

Police found Marshall, the only occupant, inside the 2005 Subaru Outback.

According to the press release, police determined that Marshall was driving west on the Snake River Road, toward Huntington, when he failed to make a curve. The car rolled about 80 feet down an embankment and into the river, where the swift current swept the car nearly 100 yards downstream. The road is built along a steep slope above the Burnt River and an inlet of Brownlee Reservoir in that area. There are no guardrails.

The Burnt River’s volume measured near Huntington dropped from around 820 cubic feet per second (cfs) on April 21 to 630 cfs on April 22.