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Accident Database: Accident #710
| River: | Cumberland, Big South Fork |
| Section: | Letherwood Ford to |
| Location: | Angel Falls |
| Gauge: | 2376 cfs |
| Water Level: | High |
| Difficulty: | IV |
| Accident Code(s): | Swim to Entrapment |
| Injury Code(s): | Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal |
| Age: | 9 |
| Experienced/Inexperienced: | Inexperienced |
| Private/Commercial: | Private |
| Boat Type: | Open Canoe |
| Number of Occupants: | 2 |
| Number in Group: | 4 |
| Number of Victims: | 1 |
| Initial Report: | Tragedy struck Tennessee’s Big South Fork of the Cumberland on April 18th. Bob Wheeley, a former area outfitter, told Lee Belknap that Donald Hunt, 9, was on an overnight trip with his father, sister, and a second adult in two canoes. Water levels were medium-high. The group missed the portage for Angel Falls, a nasty Class- IV drop that was created when state fisheries personnel dynamited a 12’ ledge in the 1920’s to create a fish ladder. Three of the paddlers flushed through the right channel unharmed. All were wearing PFD’s but still had trouble getting to shore. Young Hunt became caught by a bad undercut in the left channel. An interagency rescue team consisting of National Park Service and local EMS personnel used an underwater camera to locate the body, and made a successful recovery four days later. CW |
| Link: | http://tinyurl.com/87blu |
| Report Status: | Completed |
