November 20, 2009
Boise, Idaho
Payette River claims two rafters' lives
By KBCI Staff
CROUCH - It was like lightning striking twice in Boise county when police received two calls for help, just minutes apart, and just a few miles away. Both ended in tragedy.
According to the sheriff's office the first call came in around 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. An extended family from Lakewood, Wash., put their raft in the Payette about three miles north of Banks. Just minutes into the float the raft hit a rapid throwing two teens and a 47-year-old woman into the water. The kids made it back inside the raft but the woman disappeared. A rescuer ended up finding her body stuck under a log. The second call took rescuers to an area on the Payette near Garden Valley. Two men from Salt Lake City were tubing and ran into a log jam. A 57-year-old man was sucked under the jam and drowned. The men were not wearing life jackets. Authorities called Cascade Raft to ask river guides to help in the rescue efforts. "It's very flukey to see two deaths at the same time," says Kenneth Long, a white water rafting expert. Long says the raft group was running a Class 5, or expert stretch of river, something they would never dream of taking customers on. |
Upload directly from your mobile device. Learn howYouNews
This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled.
Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.
Resources and info you need to prepare for the switch to DTV. Stay Connected |
Viewer PollConnect with KBCI-TVMost Popular
|
Copyright © 2009
KBCI-TV, 140 N. 16th Street,
Boise,
ID
83702
Copyright © 2008 Fisher Communications, Inc.
Powered by Broadcast Interactive Media.