Laurel Fork of the Cheat River between Wymer and Jenningston is a small stream, difficult to catch "up". On June 13, 1982 it was running 2.5' at the Route 33 gauge, which is bank-full but not flooding. The run, normally Class III, becomes Class IV at these levels. It is characterized by a fast current, medium-sized waves, and a few big holes. The most difficulr section starts a short distance above a 25' waterfall (a mandatory carry) and continues below the falls. Numerous small ledges create significant holes at these water levels. A group of four kayakers from the Three Rivers Paddling Club of Pittsburgh made the run that day. All were comfortable in Class IV whitewater, and several were strong Class V paddlers. Finding the water levels in the Cheat Canyon too high the group moved upstream in the hope of finding more reasonable flows. The Laurel Fork, which is the smallest of the Cheat Tributaries, seemed like a good choice.

As the group approached the steeper section just above the falls they encountered a large hole stretching almost all the way across the river. The lead boater, Tom Ordons, ran far right, and motioned others to do the same. His brother Jerry got stuck in the hole; his two friends, who were forced to move over to avoid hitting him, also ended up in the hydraulic. Tom, who had found it difficult to stop because of the scarcity of eddies, positioned himself to recover boats and gear. One by one the the men in the hole flipped and exited their boats. After catching a boat and some paddles he swa his brother, Jerry Ordons, floating face-down in the river. He managed to get him ashore with great difficulty just above the falls.Finding no signs of life, they started CPR at around 3:30. By 6:00 they realized that Jerry was beyond help, and being badly shaken, hiked out along the old rail bed to the takeout where they notified authorities.

Since Tom Ordons had recovered several pieces of gear before he saw his brother floating free we have to assume that Jerry was recirculated in the hole several times. Jerry had a dime-sized contusion between his eyes and considerable swelling over his right eye. Somewhere in the froth he probably took a hard blow from the bow or stern of a kayak  that knocked him senseless. A blow from a rock would not have left as clean a bruise. After the impact he probably inhaled large amounts of water, and this made any rescusitation attempts futile. CPR is always a long shot, and if a person has not responded after an hour in a wilderness setting they cannot be helped.

When several people get stuck in a hole the risk of a collision increases. There is a tendancy of paddlers to "bunch up" when they encounter difficult whitewater. The first paddler back paddles, the second paddler comes up on him, and so on. It's possible, but not certain, that this happened here.