Narrative by April McEwen on 2015-04-20 (okay to publish): Location Characteristics: White Salmon River, Farmlands Section, Below Triple Drop rapid in busy section before a long pool, water level 3′ at Husum gauge Incident Date: 4/12/15 Victim: Denis Brown, male, 63, good physical condition, class 4 boater, lifelong athlete, wonderful man People in Denis’ group: Sarah Nathan, Alex Dey, Nick Jacob, and myself (April McEwen) People in supporting kayaking party: 8 (arrived 10-12 minutes after event began) Teresa Gryder, Scott Gerber, Joey Thomas, Brandon Bloomquist, Nobu Suga, Chris Dawkins, Kevin Sondey, Beau Evers Denis flipped in the third tier of Triple Drop rapid on the Farmlands section of the White Salmon River. It is busy below the third drop with some small rocky ledges. He was unable to roll, and sustained quite a hit going over a rocky ledge. He appeared to make no attempt to roll afterwards, and his boat was calm instead of moving the way it does when someone pulls their skirt and swims out. His boat stayed in the current and swung over towards river right, where most of the river’s flow was going around the last shallow rocky ledge. I saw a flash of his blue helmet as his boat listed to the side, the way boats sometimes do when filled with water. Just after seeing the top of his helmet, the blue disappeared under the surface and his boat vertically pinned. A fallen tree protruded down into the right side channel from the bank, where most of the river’s flow (~70-80%) concentrated. He pinned under the surface of the water on the log with his boat vertically pinned behind him on the upstream side. We never saw him separate from his kayak. He had already been upside down for ~20-25 seconds before he pinned and had not gotten air since he flipped. The top of his helmet was ~8-12 inches under the surface of the water. The stern of his boat was ~1.5 – 2 feet out of the water. No eddy formed from the pinned kayak (although it did decrease the water velocity somewhat), and there was no visible air pocket under the water surface. Nick reached the pin quickly, immediately did a swiftwater rescue flat jump on the downstream end of the log briefly grabbing Denis’ PFD before the current ripped Nick downstream. I reached the log just after, grabbed the 8 inch branch nub on top with my right hand and found a tiny nub for a left foothold in the mainstream current. He seemed so close, but considering the precarious perch and the force of the water, so far away. I grabbed my flip line (webbing with carabiner attached) from the front pocket of my pfd, extended out as far as I dared and punched my fist into the water towards his body. It felt like he grabbed my line, five seconds of tension and then it floated free. A moment afterwards with my crew anchoring my legs, I was able to extend out on the log and punched down to grab Denis’s helmet at the brim. I pulled up so his upper torso was vertical and inline with the kayak. The water force was tremendous. The water was splashing up into his nose, but would then pulse down and we saw him clearly. He was unconscious, with grey ashen skin, and a blue ring around his lips. That was the first time his head had been above water in 2-3 minutes. Holding him unconscious above the water was doing no good since water was gurgling into his nose and mouth, he needed someone to breathe for him anyway (if not CPR at this point), holding his head above water was physically impossible for much longer, doing so meant I couldn’t do anything else including trying to attach a line to him or the boat, and doing so meant no one else could do anything else because they were holding me so I didn’t fall in upstream of the log. Without any other choice, I let go of his helmet and managed to clip my flip line on the stern of the kayak. I punched my hand down into the water, his skirt was popped, butt in the cockpit. He seemed to be in the kayak. It was apparent we had to unpin the boat to even have a chance of getting Denis. River left was a rocky overhang without anchor points, but it was shallow so we could still pull from that side. The water pressure was so strong it would have taken mechanical advantage or many people on each side to hold him up anyway…had it been possible to get a “snag” stability line in front of him and under his arms in such strong current under the surface. A separate group of friend kayakers showed up upstream, and we whistled them down to help. An anchor was set up on river right, and five people hauled on the line. The kayak popped free by pulling from almost directly upstream. It didn’t come out in one smooth motion though, but in two with a little sideways jog, not sure if that was a result of Denis’ body coming out of the kayak or from two distinct pulls on the rope. Denis’ was still on the log but deeper now, at least two feet under the surface. At this point 10-15 minutes had passed. I reassumed my position on the log, trying to clip a line onto him. I’d punch my hand into the current, trying to feel anything that held as my hand slipped up and over his back and pfd. The back of his pfd was slick; the only thing I was able to clip into was the side of his skirt. I was sure the carabiner would slip off, but it held (found out later it punched a hole through the skirt and the rubber rand held it, even though a lot of pressure was applied when 2-3ppl were pulling on the line attached to his skirt). The skirt stretched when pulled but the rand held. Someone also started using a small hand saw on the log, but it was very slow progress. After I tired from balancing on the log trying unsuccessfully to get a clip into Denis’ PFD, Joey live baited and repeatedly jumped onto him trying to attach a line. After multiple unsuccessful attempts at attaching a line to his PFD by live baiting, we filled a throwbag with heavy rocks and multiple times were able to snag him under both arms with it. The rope would catch enough on his body where two people on each side could pull hard, but then the rope would just slip up and over. We know the rope was under both arms because they would come up out of the water. However, the water pressure was too great, or there was not enough of his torso above the log to get purchase. The next option was to try a cinch technique, but search and rescue personnel were in sight halfway down to us and brought a chainsaw to cut the log. We then pulled the body to river right using the rope/carabiner attached to Denis’ skirt. CPR was performed for a good 30 minutes or so before effort ceased. The kayakers on the river that day did an impressive job of seeking what needed to be done and doing it. Several of us were former professional river guides, had swiftwater rescue training/current certification, and wilderness first aid training, as well as extensive experience on rivers. Rescuer safety was a top priority as there was always danger of falling in upstream of the log. Frantic behavior could have easily caused multiple victims, and everyone acted quickly while thinking of the danger and working in teams. On the behalf of everyone in our kayaking group that day, we sincerely appreciate the emergency response from the community, including the local fire department, Sheriff’s office, EMT’s, and search and rescue personnel. You were on scene rapidly, extremely professional, and displayed sensitivity during the situation. WET Planet – thank you for volunteering guides and equipment to move the body downstream and off the river. It is quite impressive to see a community come together and perform calmly, organized, and professional. Last but not least, to Denis’ family, may you find solace in the memories of such an extraordinary human being. Denis was no stranger to adventure, having climbed Everest three times and summiting once (among many other adventures I’m sure). He was inspired by and passionate about kayaking. After hitting a good boof on Canyon Creek the previous day, he said it was one of the best feelings he had ever had. He is one of the most humble, positive, and happiest people I have ever met…full of life, love, and radiant energy. He somehow seemed to see the best in every situation although he had seen more than a fair share of death and hurt in his lifetime. He chose to see the beauty in the world and enriched my life in the short time I knew him. Life is fleeting, but Denis’ legacy lives on through his family and the lives he touched. Denis liked to clap to music and when dancing. I’m sure he is applauding all the wonderful moments he had in his life and all of us. This report has been reviewed by members of our group (the one with Denis that witnessed the event from beginning to end). All other accounts of this accidents should be reviewed for accuracy. The previous ones submitted (#3925) contain many inaccuracies. There is also a photo I can submit via email.