Accident Database

Report ID#68329

2012-04-28
accident date
Heather Bonser Bishop
victim
39
victim age
Chetco
river
unknown
section
Rivers Edge RV Resort near Harbor
location
n/a
gage
n/a
water level
N/A
river difficulty
Equipment Trap
cause code(s)
n/a
injury type(s)
n/a
factors
Private
trip type
Other
boat type
status?
status

Description

NA 39-year-old Gold Beach woman drowned Saturday after her paddle board became entangled with a submerged tree on the Chetco River. Curry County Sheriff John Bishop said a man reported hearing a child cry for help on the river bank next to at Rivers Edge RV Resort near Harbor before 6 p.m. When deputies arrived, they could see a woman’s body under the water, caught on a tree. The body of Heather Bonser Bishop was recovered at about 7:30 p.m. by search and rescue personnel. Investigators discovered that Bishop, no relation to the sheriff, was paddle boarding in the Chetco River with her family on Saturday. Bishop and her 10-year-old daughter were trailing other family members when Bishop’s board and line became entangled in the tree, which pulled her under. Her daughter screamed for help. The body was turned over to Redwood Mortuary and the Curry County Sheriff’s Office is investigating. Newspaper article: http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2012/04/gold_beach_woman_39_dies_paddl.html 2nd Newspaper article: http://lostcoastoutpost.com/2012/apr/30/trinidad-woman-dies-while-paddleboarding-chetco-ri/ Need to add “SUP” to “Boat Type”.