: A commercial raft flipped while running the breach at Sunbeam Dam on the Upper Salmon River near Stanley, ID. The dam was blown apart by vigilantes in the early 1900’s. There is a big reversal at the bottom that flips rafts even at low levels. The flow on June 17, 1996 was estimated at 13,000 cfs. This is extremely high; normal seasonal flows are in the 4-5,000 cfs range.

The victim, Melvin Wexler, 56, was running the river with his family. One of the rafts flipped at the remains of Sunbeam Dam, a steep drop into some huge holes, and Wexler was thrown into the icy water. He was not wearing a wetsuit. He was brought to shore quickly, but he did not survive. Cardiac problems, may have been involved.

SOURCE: Doug Purl, Vince Thompson, and Sea Bass Sears, posting to rec.boats.paddle; Wood River Journal, Hailey, ID

ANALYSIS: (Walbridge) A number of older people have drowned following sudden immersion in cold water even though they were rescued promptly. The absence of a wetsuit intensified these effects, and may have been responsible for the cardiac problems he experienced. Other mechanisms, such as laringospasm, may also have been at work.