WW Parks seem inherently safe until you…just add humans! DC Searchers find no sign of drowning victim By JOHN MORGAN . Star-Tribune staff writer Emergency responders continued to search the North Platte River on Tuesday for the body of a young man who drowned Sunday at Casper’s Whitewater Park. Scott Shafer, 21, of Casper, was rafting with friends Sunday evening when his innertube hit the course’s engineered rapids and threw him into the water, according to Casper Fire-EMS shift commander Jeff Kuhn. Shafer walked out across the shallow river to retrieve his innertube and was pulled under by swift currents and uneven ground. He was not wearing a life jacket. Rescuers staged a massive rescue operation Sunday evening that continued all day Monday and Tuesday with no luck, Kuhn said. The whitewater park was closed while responders searched up and down the river for any signs of Shafer, using metal boats, rafts, airplanes and helicopters. A cadaver dog was brought down from Cody to help with the search, Kuhn said. Kuhn said this is the first drowning since the whitewater course was created in May 2003, though there have been several near drownings. “I cannot emphasize enough how dangerous this river is and how important it is to wear a life jacket,” he said. Responders were continuing to search a large section of the river, but were focusing their efforts on a particular area near where Shafer was last seen. Shafer’s family and friends waited along the river for any news and received updates from officials periodically. “Please wear your life jackets, even though you think you don’t need them,” Shafer’s sister, Cindy Craft, told the Casper Star-Tribune on Tuesday. “We hope other people will learn from this.” Reporter John Morgan can be reached at (307) 266-0614 or john.morgan@casperstartribune.net.