Accident Database

Report ID# 3564

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  • PFD Not Worn or Present
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  • One Boat Trip

Accident Description

I'm a river ranger on the Lower Deschutes.  Just wanted to let you know that a recovery was made of this victim last Saturday August 20th.  I have not found any news reporting the recovery and knew about the AW safety website.
 
The victim was recovered near the river community of Dant.  BLM River Rangers assisted Wasco County Sheriff's with the recovery effort.
 
Jim Beaupre
Prineville BLM
Outdoor Recreation Planner
541.416.6776

Rafter presumed drowned in Deschutes River

by Teresa Blackman, kgw.com Staff NWCN.com

Posted on August 15, 2011

THE DALLES, Ore. -- A man is missing and presumed drowned after falling out of a raft in the upper Deschutes River, near North Junction, authorities said. Five people were on board the raft when it overturned in the White Horse Rapids area last Friday, according to the Wasco County Sheriff's Office. Authorities said four people made it to shore, but a 29-year-old man could not reach shore and was last seen floating downriver without a life jacket. Crews searched on the water and from the air, but have found no sign of the missing man. Sunday, the search was suspended. The man's name has not yet been released, pending notification of family members.

California man, 29, presumed drowned

in rafting trip on Deschutes River

Published: Tuesday, August 16, 2011, 8:45 AM    
 

A 29-year-old man from California is presumed to have drowned on the upper Deschutes River during a rafting trip.  He was last seen floating down the river Friday evening near North Junction south of Maupin after the rubber raft he was on flipped over in the White Horse Rapids area, said Chief Deputy Lane Magill of the Wasco County Sheriff’s Office. Four other men on the raft made it to shore.

Officials were dispatched to the scene about 6 p.m. and mounted an air search with a plane. They waited until daybreak to scour the riverbanks and ply the water, looking for the man. Deputies from Wasco County and Hood River County took part in the search along with Oregon State Police and the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs.

Magill said the man was not wearing a life jacket. It’s not clear whether the four other men on the raft were wearing vests as required by law in rivers rated Class 3 and above.  All of the surviving men are in their 20s and at least some of them are from out of state, Magill said.

The search was called off Sunday night after no signs turned up.  “It doesn’t look good,” Magill said.

The White Horse Rapids is a dangerous section of the river, Magill said.  “We’ve had some drownings in that area before,” Magill said.  The last one was in July 2006 when a woman wearing a life jacket died.

No names or details about the missing man and his friends were released. The investigation is continuing.

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