Rafter’s body found near Idaho Springs
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Melissa Garcia, KCNC
CLEAR CREEK COUNTY, Colorado – A Sunday afternoon water rescue in Clear Creek County, Colorado turned into the unfortunate recovery of a body.
The death of a man visiting from the Chicago area is one of Colorado’s first rafting deaths of the 2018 season.
Rising river levels are just part of the inherent danger of whitewater rafting. Currently, Clear Creek waters are flowing at a medium level.
It’s unknown what caused the man on Sunday to fall out of the commercial raft.
Commercial rafts carry more than 1,000 riders down Clear Creek every day during summer.
River guides and other employees were seen hugging one another outside of AVA Rafting in nearby Idaho Springs.
“It’s an unfortunate situation, and our hearts go out to (his) family,” said Duke Bradford, Director at AVA Rafting.
He said the man was rafting with a group of friends when he went overboard in a rougher section of the creek known as the lower canyon.
“This group was doing an advanced section. There are sections of river that are mild. This one was much more on the wild side,” Bradford told CBS4’s Melissa Garcia.
River guides made multiple efforts including a line cast out through the water, but were unable to get him back on the raft.
The Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office responded with a rescue team. Efforts to revive the man with CPR were unsuccessful, a witness said.
Bradford said it was unclear whether a medical condition may have triggered the man’s fall.
His identity and cause of death have not been released.
This article was first published by fellow CNN affiliate KCNC. It is used here with permission.