Kaweah River drowning victim identified
Posted at 10:46 PM on Monday, Jun. 21, 2010
By Tara Albert / The Fresno Bee
6:45 p.m. Monday: A 47-year-old man drowned this morning in the Kaweah River northwest of Visalia, the Tulare County Sheriffs Department said. Authorities said the man fell into the river a few minutes before 10 a.m. when his boat flipped over near Three Rivers. Other people who fell from the boat were able to exit the water safely. The man's name is not being released until his family can be notified.
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Kaweah drowning victim died of blunt-force trauma
A man who drowned in the Kaweah River northwest of Visalia on Monday died of blunt-force trauma, the Tulare County Sheriff's Department said Tuesday. Grady Larry Singletary Jr., 47, of Casselberry, Fla., fell into the river shortly before 10 a.m. when the boat he was riding in flipped over near Three Rivers, the Sheriff's Department said.
Singletary, a passenger on a raft operated by All Outdoors Whitewater Rafting of Walnut Creek, was wearing a helmet, life jacket and wetsuit, a sheriff's spokeswoman said.
Kaweah River Page http://c2.com/kaweah/index.html is the most up to date and detailed source of information about the Kaweah and tributary streams.
The Kaweah River outside of Sequoia National Park is relatively steep, shallow and rocky. There are a number of rapids on this river, especially Powerhouse and Cyanotic, which are known for beating up swimmers. Unconfirmed accounts say the man took a long swim all the way through Cyanotic after the raft flipped in Powerhouse.
If he died from Blunt Force Trauma it may have happened very quickly on entering the river. He would have been lifeless as he floated the rest of the rapids. He was wearing a helmet, lifejacket, and at this time of year, probably a wet suit as well. Powerhouse rapid is steep and particularly shallow as the river spreads out in several separate channels. This rapid is also prone to significant changes during high water events. The safest routes and the dangers of the rapid often change every few years.
