Heard a rumor that someone fell in the drink and did not make it out. Hope it is not true........

Hope not.
That would suck!
There isn't that much water right now.
 
I will say that I was nervous on the rock when a guy from PA left his 6ish year old alone by me as he waded upstream to fish.

Neither of my kids got near a steelhead river before 10 and already knowing how to swim.  And I never waded away and left them.

Well no sign in the news so looks like a false lead. Thank goodness

Looks like I will take your advice Lucky.  My wife asked when I would be taking my boy up.  Although I'd love to share the river with him, I also fear for his safety.  10 years old seems like a reasonable starting point unless I take him up for a float trip.

There was a Russian fellow with his maybe 5 year old fishing at Pineville a few weeks ago. The boy had a rod with a float and he  heaved it out a few feet and managed to snag a guy's waders. Dad snagged a salmon and ran a hundred yds. down river with it, never bothering to check on his son. People around him took care of the kid. STRANGERS. Thank God they were decent people. Brought whole new meaning to Azzhat.

Crazy sh ! T man!!! I started my boy real young. One rule of thumb is to never let your child, wife or people of weaker stream wading capabilities be down stream from you

Right on with that one! 

I just can't believe someone would hook a fish and leave their son behind. Granted, pinevilke is now really dangerous bit a 5 year old left on his own hooking peoples waders??? Parental negligence to the tee. My son is 8 and I still pick him up and take him for tge ride when I hook up.

Andy, he was under the bridge climbing around on the rocks with a rod, way too big for him. Lucky he didn't bust his head open. A stranger grabbed him up at one point when he was in serious danger of falling on the rocks.  It was also obvious Dad never showed him a thing, other than how to flip the bail. He was using an egg and caught a chub a rod's length from shore! Dad never unhooked it and let him drag it around for the rest of the time I was there.  I thought of you when I was watching this tragicomedy, of course, in exactly the opposite way  of how to take your k**** fishing. Your son will carry on a great family  tradition, the Russian kid will be lucky to become a teenager. I had a ton of autonomy when I was a little kid, but I had responsibility hammered into me very early. The Russian family I camped next to in Selkirk had lots of great stories. I especially liked the one about poaching fish in a hatchery or maybe the incredible snagging adventure they had in Alaska. Their campfire was 20 feet from my tent, so I listened for entertainment.
Different culture.
PS I have no idea why the word k-i-d-s is filtered, I'm usually pretty obscene, but not in this case.