Accident Database

Report ID#65206

1998-06-01
accident date
Three People
victim
0
victim age
Cosumnes River
river
Highway 49 to Latrobe Road
section
Old Grey Falls???
location
900
gage
Medium
water level
VI
river difficulty
Caught in a Natural Hydraulic
cause code(s)
Does not Apply
injury type(s)
One Boat Trip
factors
Private
trip type
Raft
boat type
status?
status

Description

Lee and Charlie, TV news last night and today showed the missing raft on the Cosumnes recirculating in a hole beneath a fairly large waterfall. The shows also reported that the bodies of all three missing rafters were recovered from that same spot. The presence of a waterfall on the run tells me that this was the Highway 49 to Latrobe Road section of the Cosumnes River. The waterfall in question is called Old and Grey, described by Holbeck and Stanley as “a runnable Class VI.” I have only boated this section once, and we portaged the waterfall. Flows on the Cosumnes Sunday were about 900 cfs. At that level, the overall level of difficulty according to Holbeck and Stanley is class IV. Regards, Richard Lee and Charlie, The local NPR affiliate station, KXJZ, reported this morning an accident that occurred on the Cosumnes River yesterday. Three rafters paddling one raft were reported overdue by the paddlers’ parents. A subsequent search by the Sac County Sheriff’s dept. found the raft and one body. The other two are missing and presumed dead. I am afraid I do not where on the Cosumnes the accident occured.