Man dies after raft overturns in Browns Canyon
Fourth fatality in seven days on Arkansas River

by Christopher Kolomitz
Mail Managing Editor

The fourth fatality in seven days on the Arkansas River occurred about 1:30 p.m. Monday in Browns Canyon north of Salida.

Marcus Martin, 43 of Castle Pines North, was in a Wilderness Aware raft that flipped in Graveyard Rapid near the end of the Browns Canyon run, Chaffee County Sheriff Tim Walker, reported.

After the raft flipped, attempts to get Martin onto the overturned raft were unsuccessful. However, people in a second Wilderness Aware raft traveling with the group managed to get the man into their raft, Walker said.

Walker said while Martin was in the second raft, he complained it was difficult to breathe.

After he was ashore at Hecla Junction boat ramp, Martin became unresponsive and cardiopulmonary resuscitation was started.

Walker said Martin was transported by Chaffee County Emergency Medical Services to Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center in Salida where additional attempts were made to revive him.

Castle Pines North is located south of the Denver metro area and is a residential area. It was incorporated as a town in 2007.

The river was running at 3,450 cubic feet per second at Hecla Junction when the incident occurred. The flow is nearing seasonal peak and many weeks remain in the season.

Last year, 294,654 people paid to raft the river and there were six deaths recorded.