The Keene Sentinel 4/7/08 Friends rescue trapped kayaker Man, 33, pulled under by current in Ashuelot falls A Massachusetts man was taken to the hospital Sunday after his kayak capsized in the Ashuelot River Falls. Mark Boucher, 33, of Ashburnham, was kayaking with a group of friends. They were described as “fairly experienced kayakers” and he was wearing a life jacket at the time of the accident. Paddling a canoe and five solo kayaks, the group put in behind the American Legion on Court Street. They got out of the river at Ashuelot River Park to walk around the falls, an 8′ high dam. Boucher was the first one to launch below the dam. As he was waiting for the others, he paddled over by the falls and was caught by the hydraulic and pulled upstream. His boat went underwater and started rolling with the force of the current. Boucher was pulled above and under the surface repeatedly. His kayak was right next to him doing the same thing, Finally the current pushed him out. Two females in the group were able to swim Boucher ashore, and other friends immediately started CPR. Off-duty firefighters heard the call, and found that Boucher had gone into cardiac and respiratory arrest. He was taken, unconscious, to the Cheshire Medical Center/ Dartmouth – Hitchcock Keene and later flown by helicopter to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon. As of Monday afternoon, Boucher was alive and responding to visitors. Two other members of the group were taken to the hospital and treated for hypothermia. Sent in by: Lisa Egan legan@janostech.com Still in critical condition 4/21/08