Two men who drowned on Arkansas River identified From The Pueblo Chieftain A man who drowned on the Arkansas River on June 6 has been identified as Kenneth Ward, 79, of Florence. He was in a private raft by himself when the boat capsized” in the Florence area. CPW launched a search and rescue operation at around 4 p.m. to look for Ward, who witnesses said appeared “to be in some distress” when they saw him floating by the Florence River Park earlier in the day. The search was suspended Monday evening as night fell. It resumed the next morning, and Ward’s body was recovered after 3:30 p.m. Fremont County Coroner Randy Keller noted that the Arkansas River recently has been running “rather high.”