TWO CANOEISTS DIE ON FLOODED SALT RIVER

Near Tempe, Arizona : March 3, 1993

DESCRIPTION: The Salt River in the vicinity of Tempe, Arizona is normally a dry river channel. But 1993 was a record snow year, and recent snowmelt forced upstream dams to release 5,700 cfs, filling the riverbed to capacity. Although the river was high and fast, actual difficulty was no more than Class I. The one exception: a concrete ramp built to protect buried utility lines and channel the river for a diversion. At this flow it acts like a low head dam and has a vicious hydraulic at the bottom.

The victims, Dr. James Wilson and Dr. Finis Taylor, both in their 40's, were paddling tandem with two friends in a second canoe as they approached the structure. The other boat made it safely to shore, but Wilson and Taylor were swept over the drop and capsized. A state highway employee saw them go over and called for help on his radio. A bicyclist on a nearby bridge said he saw a man struggling in the water who slipped out of his life vest and disappeared from view. This and a second PFD were recovered by rescuers. The next day divers and helicopters were still searching for the body.

SOURCE: Bob Reiterman and The Phoenix Gazette

ANALYSIS: Although the pair had paddled before it's clear that they either did not know the dam-like structure was there or did not appreciate the danger. Signs warning of the hazard had been placed the year before, but were no longer in position.