Pablo, paddling a very high volume creek boat, was already committed to the run. His boat hit the log bow first, disappeared, and was apparently held in place by the log and the undercut. His three companions, all very strong paddlers, tried a variety of methods to bring Pablo's head above water including a snag line and a tethered wader in a rescue vest. The accident occurred at 5:00; at 6:00 the group sent for outside help. The Black Mountain Swiftwater Rescue Team and dozens of local paddlers responded to what proved to be a very difficult rescue. Auxiliary lighting was brought in and Pablo's body was removed from his boat at 3:30 the following morning. Friends recovered his boat later that day. Logs in drops can be extremely dangerous and hard to spot. Since smaller creeks are being run regularly, paddlers need to find better ways of spotting these hazards.

On February 18, 1998 a group of longtime paddling friends, Scott Albright, Philip Curry, Hugh Kelly and Pablo Perez, were kayaking on the Upper Rocky Broad river near Bat Cave, NC . The run is rated Class IV-V in Benner’s guide. Everyone in the group was an expert paddler; Philip, Scott and Hugh paddled the section frequently. Perez, 28, was a member of the U.S. Rodeo Team. With the water level running at 4.5 feet, a moderate flow, the group put on the upper section at about 4:00 p.m. They comfortably ran the top portion of the run, including a well-known rapid called Flight Simulator. They scouted this beforehand to check for new logs.

Close to 5:00 p.m. the group approached a short, previously unnamed rapid that others refer to as “Guido”. Pablo watched Scott’s run of the rapid while he listened to a verbal description from Philip. Then he entered the rapid. As Scott came off the bottom drop of the rapid, which is bordered on river left by an undercut rock parallel to the main flow, he did a stern squirt and felt his boat hit a submerged log. Scott eddied out to warn the other paddlers. As he turned upstream he saw Pablo placing his final stroke as he entered the rapid.

At the bottom of the drop, Pablo’s boat melted down, or disappeared, beneath the water, a not uncommon occurrence in this rapid. When Scott did not see Pablo emerge, he paddled immediately to shore, got out of his boat, and ran upstream with a throw rope. He saw Pablo’s paddle float downstream as he did so. From upstream, Philip watched Pablo paddle over the drop. After seeing Pablo disappear and watching the change in Scott’s demeanor, he got out of his boat and ran downstream.

When Scott arrived at the base of the drop he could not see Pablo or his boat at all. He threw his rope bag hard into the river where Pablo was last seen. When the rope hit, Scott saw Pablo’s hand reach out of the water. At this point Pablo had been under for about 15 seconds. Scott quickly recoiled the rope and threw it where he saw Pablo’s hand. When this attempt was unsuccessful, Scott dove into the river. His hands landed on Pablo’s body and he pulled hard twice before being washed downstream by the powerful current.

As Scott was making his rope throws, Hugh attached a rope to Philip’s rescue harness. Philip entered the water on a belay from Hugh. He made it to where Pablo was pinned and, with the help of Scott, managed to get a hold of him. Now, 45 seconds into the pin, they realized how solidly Pablo was trapped. Scott and Philip, stabilizing each other and anchored to Hugh on shore, tried to elevate Pablo’s unresponsive body so that they could hold his head above water. After two minutes of repeated hands-on rescue attempts it became clear that this would not work. Philip and Scott returned to shore, and Hugh suggested using a snag line.

Hugh swam to river right and caught a rope from Philip. Scott looped the middle of the rope around the only reachable part of Pablo, his left arm. In this way they managed to lift Pablo’s hand to the surface, although the rest of the body did not move and the rope soon slipped off. Continued attempts to get a line under Pablo’s torso were unsuccessful. The group could not reach any part of Pablo’s boat or his body, aside from his left arm.

Scott, Philip and Hugh continued rescue attempts for over an hour, including but not limited to: various types of snag lines to elevate the torso, an attempt to move the submerged log, and an attempt to move the body by using a stout branch as a lever. At approximately 6:30 p.m., the group decided that impending darkness and the lapse of time since Pablo’s submergence required that they send for additional help.

Local paddlers and rescue squads, including the Black Mountain Swift Water Rescue Team, arrived to help. At about 3:30 a.m. on February 19, the body of Pablo Perez was removed from the Rocky Broad. More of Pablo’s friends arrived at dawn and spent the next day recovering his  boat.

Pablo was pinned at the base of a 5 foot drop. His boat and body was pinned sideways against a log, which was running diagonally across the river towards an undercut rock. He never pulled his skirt, possibly because the current had pushed his body at a 90-degree angle from the bow.

SOURCE:  Written by Bryan Jennings; additional information from Chris Bell and Tom Visnius

ANALYSIS: (Walbridge) Hidden logs in chutes are a constant danger on steep creeks. They can cause problems even in seemingly easy drops. A group making the run at lower water had seen the log that killed Pablo Perez, and there are rumors of a previous pin there. At the level Perez encountered, this strainer was very difficult to spot. Even scouting each drop, which is not always practical, might not have revealed this trap. Once a person is pinned, rescue may not be possible even for well-equipped teams of experts.