"wintesses saw four parachutes" Good news....
Yes, very good news. But why would the plane be ditched? In or Ex terior obstruction?
Some sort of engine failure would be my guess....
My family has a cabin in Central Oregon, and I remember well the times when the Oregon ANG would fly over on their way to this bombing range. They flew F101 Voodoos back then, and they'd be hill-hopping at high transsonic speeds. Those things literally screamed as they went by....
Ahhhh, still one of my very favorite memories.