June 3, 2023: There was a fatality today. A man and woman decided to put on the Klickitat River at the fish hatchery in a Kmart style inflatable kayak without thermal protection, PDFs, or helmets. They went a low head dam on the far right. The man was able to get out of the river. The woman swam downstream and was apparently conscious while heading downstream, but we were told that she is not a strong swimmer.
We were alerted to this situation at the takeout by a family that witnessed the event and were asked if we saw anyone float by the takeout. Two of us went upstream to the fish hatchery to put in again and search downstream since search and rescue was still hours away. We did not find the victim. She was wearing a pink sweater, so if you run the section, please keep an eye out.
6/3/22. Not yet found and confirmed, but understand a woman fell out of inflatable kayak and has not been seen after hours of search and rescue and other paddlers searching. Sounds like she did not have a PFD. Sounds like they may have put in above the fish hatchery instead of below it (or portaging it). There is a low head dam at the Hatchery such that those who run the upper section have to take out and portage it to continue below. But there are no signs indicating the hazards of the low head dam such that a non-paddler or inexperienced paddler would recognize the seriousness.
Body found Sepember 2, 2023 10 miles downstream.
Missing kayaker sought near Glenwood
The Glenwood, WA Sentinel June 2, 2023
An intensive search for a missing kayaker on the Klickitat River was suspended when responders determined a continued search would prove dangerous to personnel.
On Saturday Klickitat County Dispatch received a call that a woman had fallen out of her kayak and went over the low head dam on the Klickitat River near the Glenwood Fish Hatchery. Klickitat County Sheriff’s Deputy Erik Beasley responded and requested that Klickitat County Search and Rescue (SAR) and the Glenwood Fire Department be paged to the location.
Department of Emergency Management (DEM) Director Jeff King contacted Beasley and advised he was asking Wet Planet Whitewater Company to respond with Swift Water Rescue certified personnel. He also requested Dispatch to page out the DEM Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) team.
When Beasley arrived at the area of the report, he made contact with the Glenwood Fire Department, and they were able to determine the last location of the missing person after making contact with the husband of the missing kayaker.
The SAR K9 Team deployed and searched the riverbanks where the terrain allowed them to go. Raft and kayak teams, composed of SAR personnel and members from Wet Planet, floated the river from the Fish Hatchery to Leidle Park. Other kayakers heard about the incident and floated the river ahead of the search teams to look for the missing woman.
Ground teams from Glenwood Fire, SAR, and other local people began searching roads and areas that were accessible by foot. The DEM UAS Team flew drones over the river. The search continued until dark and resumed the following day.
That day, June 4, SAR personnel and the DEM UAS Team responded to the scene and continued to search the river and banks of the Klickitat River. The search was suspended at about 1 p.m. with no signs of the missing kayaker. The Klickitat River is running swiftly this time of year with snow runoff, and the steep terrain posed serious safety concerns to the search teams.
The missing woman is identified as 29-year-old Sandhya Sridhar. At the time of her disappearance in the Klickitat River, she was wearing a pink hooded sweatshirt and gray yoga-style hiking pants. She was not wearing a life jacket when she fell out of her kayak.
Sad that people go out just wanting to have fun on a hot day like everyone else and have no idea that their day is going to end like this. Not sure that you try to include all paddling related river drownings. I think most “real” paddlers dismiss the report of the paddler wasn’t wearing a PFF that they were a tourist in a floating vessel, but not an actual paddler I know it would give me great grief because the captain of our swiftwater team on search and rescue despises kayakers so much and would always leer that another kayaker had gotten themselves in trouble, even though the supposed kayaker wasn’t wearing a PFD and wasn’t in a whitewater kayak meant to be used on rivers. It’s difficult to lump all of this together, but can’t discount the deaths either of that’s where education needs to be focused.
Search called off for missing kayaker on Klickitat River
Columbia Community Connection
By Justin Brimer
Search and rescue officials called off a search for a woman who fell out of her boat into the frigid waters of the Klickitat River Saturday, June 3. Sandy Sridhar, 29, was kayaking with her husband in a two-person inflatable kayak when the boat got stuck on the Low Head Dam near the Klickitat Fish Hatchery. Both Sridhar and her husband fell out of the boat. He was able to make it to the shore and contacted officials with the Klickitat County Sheriff’s Office. Sridhar was not wearing a life jacket or a dry suit.
Along with employees from Wet Planet Whitewater, county search and rescuers formed a raft and kayak team and floated from the nearby fish hatchery downstream to Leidl Park, looking for Sridhar, according to a release from the Sheriff’s Office.
Officials also used a Search and Rescue K-9 and a drone to aid in the search, but they were not able to locate the missing kayaker. They returned the next day, June 4, and continued to walk the banks near where Sridhar was last seen. They could not find her and called off the search at 1 pm, citing hazardous conditions for the searchers.
At the time Sridhar fell Into the water, the Klickitat River was running cold, fast and high due to recent spring runoff, according to officials. This section of the Klickitat has Class III rapids and the Low Head Dam is a well-known hazard to experienced boaters, said
Chip Hogan who lives in the area and has paddled the Klickitat River dozens of times. He said that man-made hazards, like the Low Head Dam, are especially dangerous to those who float or paddle the river. The dam runs perpendicular to the river and a two-person inflatable kayak was seen resting on top of the middle of the dam on June 9, nearly a week after the accident. “This section of the river is really scenic,” Hogan said. “It’s also really dangerous.” Hogan, who lives nearby, said that it is common for boaters to float that section of the river, but most aim for the far left side of the river. The kayak seen resting on the dam on Friday was on the right side of the river, near the fish hatchery.
Members from the Klickitat County Search and Rescue, Glenwood Fire Department, and Klickitat County Department of Emergency Management aided in the search, according to the press release. Other boaters and community volunteers joined law enforcement officials and scoured nearby roads, trails and anywhere accessible by foot, but none could locate Sridhar.
