Accident Database

Report ID#68311

2011-09-02
accident date
William Burns Martindale
victim
n/a
victim age
Rogue (5. Grave Creek (Galice) to Foster Bar (Agness)
river
5. Grave Creek (Galice) to Foster Bar (Agness) (34 miles)
section
Blossom Bar; Picket Fence
location
n/a
gage
Low
water level
IV
river difficulty
Pinned in Boat Against Strainer
cause code(s)
n/a
injury type(s)
n/a
factors
Private
trip type
Other
boat type
status?
status

Description

Non-Witness Narrative by (name not provided) on 2011-09-09 (okay to publish): Authorities haven’t recovered the body of a Sherwood man who drowned last Friday when his boat got stuck on rocks at Blossom Bar on the wilderness section of the Rogue River. William Burns Martindale, 68, jumped off the wooden drift boat with a rope, but disappeared under the water after he apparently got entangled, Curry County sheriff’s officials said today. His companion, James Edward Stout, 69, of Portland survived and was picked up by a passing rafter, Sheriff John Bishop said. Martindale’s drowning was the first this year at the bar, a legendary Class IV rapids. Rescuers tried to dislodge the boat without success and are continuing to look for Martindale’s body. The boat isn’t a hazard and probably will stay wedged between rocks until the river level drops, Bishop said. From Memorial Day through Labor Day, 21 people died on Oregon and southwest Washington waterways this year. http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2011/09/search_unsuccessful_for_sherwood_man_who_drowned_at_blossom_bar_on_rogue_river.html