On July 12th American Creek in Katamai National Park near King Salmon, Alaska was running high and fast following recent rains. Slim Ray reported that a raft containing a number of prominent Alabama lawyers and politicians was caught by overhanging branches and flipped. All but one person made it to shore; Gary Aildridge, 48, a former Alabama State Senator, was swept downriver and is presumed dead. Fog and high water hampered immediate efforts to recover the body.