From a conversation with Evan Moore, Sierra South: At the southern end of the Sierras, the Kern River was running at 4800 cfs on June 16th. That day a group of five expert kayakers planned a run through Class IV Ant Canyon below the Johnsondale Bridge. The water level was high, 4800 cfs. At the bottom of the first drop, Class IV Bombay Rapid, the river pushes into a low island at river center. Will Hoxie, 26, headed for what looked like a clean opening through the brush. Suddenly he hit a hidden log protruding vertically just below the river’s surface. Instinctively, he braced into it. The end of the log pushed violently into his kayak cockpit, trapping him with his head barely above the water. The force of the water wrapped his boat, a modern creek design especially resistant to pinning. Several branches across his body complicated the pin.
His companions made several desperate attempts at rescue, but the location – a washed over island mid-river – made for difficult access to this frightful pin. Mr. Hoxie was conscious when the group got to him and they struggled to keep his head above water. Ropes were used in an attempt to release the boat, Finally, he was overcome by the surging water. After 90 minutes of desperate efforts the group notified authorities. The river was rising, eventually cresting and holding at 10,000 cfs. Swiftwater teams determined that a recovery could not be made safely. Several weeks later the water level dropped, allowing a safe recovery. Risk in whitewater can never be eliminated, and this last incident is a good example of what mountaineers call “objective danger” – environmental risks that are almost impossible to spot and avoid. There are two previous examples of this type of pin in the AW Database, one fatal, both unexpected.
from Darryl Pauline on FB: Will Hoxie broached a hidden log while paddling sweep on a 1000 cfs side channel of a 6000 cfs river. The group of 4 hiked up, paddled behind the log and tried to extricate for 45 minutes. Victim had water going over helmet mostly, a side branch lodged in his skirt and chest. If they had a saw aybe they could have cut the log before victim drowned.
FB: They were all experienced boaters with all necessary gear. They were guides out on a private trip. One of them got pushed off line (high water) and into a strainer where his boat became lodged between branches. The other four were able to get to him and lifted his head up as much as possible but they believe the pressure of the water was too much and he lost consciousness- this is not confirmed by a medical professional just observation. One attempt to get him out ripped part of the victim’s pfd which speaks to the pounds of pressure he was under. After attempting rescue for 90 minutes, no sign of life and some bodily injuries to themselves they had to let go.
Water levels have increased to 8000 cfs, making a recovery impossible.
Responders finally able to recover body of kayaker pinned in the Kern River for 43 days
(https://sjvwater.org/responders-finally-able-to-recover-body-of-kayaker-pinned-in-the-kern-river-for-43-days/)
William Hoxie is finally going home.
The accomplished 26-year-old kayaker died June 14 while navigating the historic high flows on the upper Kern River.
He was kayaking with several others but got separated on one side of the river. When he tried to cross back, his craft was impaled by a submerged log and he was pinned in the river.
The force of the water kept Hoxie’s boat and his body at that spot for the past 43 days.
Tulare County Sheriff’s Department deputies in the swift water rescue unit tried to retrieve Hoxie’s body by boat and had helicopters on site several times. But until Thursday, the water was just too high, said Lt. Kevin Kemmerling.
Deputies were finally able to reach Hoxie’s boat and retrieve his body shortly before noon Thursday after flows had dropped to half what they were when Hoxie died.
The kayak had broken in two after being pummeled by water for more than a month.
“He’s going home,” said Tom Moore, owner of Kernville rafting company Sierra South. He said Hoxie had come to the area just a few days before the accident, attracted by the big water. Hoxie is from a boating family and grew up kayaking on his home river, the Trinity, according to his obituary on Legacy.com.
Hoxie’s family declined to be interviewed for this story, according to a family spokesman.
“He knew what he was doing,” Moore said of William Hoxie. “He was doing everything right. This was just a freak, freak accident.”
Kemmerling said deputies got word of the accident at 5 p.m. June 14, but with flows at 5,000 cubic feet per second, they couldn’t get near Hoxie’s kayak. They came back the next day, and the next and the next.
“There was just no safe way to get in,” he said.
In fact, flows on the upper Kern continued to increase following the accident, all the way to 7,600 cfs, according to Kemmerling.
So, the Sheriff’s department waited, posting deputies on the road above where the river held Hoxie’s body and kept them onsite 24/7, Kemmerling said.
Rescuers couldn’t reach William Hoxie’s boat in June when this photo was taken. COURTESY Tulare Co. Sheriff’s Office
In the last week of June, flows had abated to about 4,500 cfs, and deputies launched a rescue attempt. By that time, the bow of Hoxie’s red kayak was just visible above the roiling waves.
William Hoxie’s kayak was broken apart by the force of the Kern River.
Deputies strung a high line across the churning river and used it to inch a rescue boat toward Hoxie. But the rapids quickly slung their boat around, putting it crosswise to the current. In an instant, water was gushing over one side, threatening to pull it under.
“We almost lost three guys,” Kemmerling said.
The team quickly rearranged their weight, freeing the side that was swamped and pulled themselves to safety.
Moore and several other local boaters were on hand during that attempt. He said the Tulare County deputies wanted to try again but the long-time Kern River boaters advised against it.
When flows started to drop below 3,000 cfs, deputies decided to try another rescue. This time, they were successful.
After they recovered Hoxie’s body and Kemmerling’s crew was back to shore, he shook his head.
“This was the most difficult rescue I’ve seen in my 25-year career,” he said.
With the long Labor Day weekend approaching, he had a message for the anticipated throngs of visitors: “Stay out of the river. Please.
There have been eight deaths in the Kern River so far this year, seven in the Kern County portion and one in the Tulare County stretch.
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On Tuesday, 7/27/23, with around 4700 cfs, Tulare County Sheriff Search and Rescue attempted to retrieve deceased paddler Will Hoxie pinned in his kayak below Bombay rapid on Ant Canyon. The accident date was 13 days prior. The Tulare Sheriff was assisted by Kern S&R and friends of Will’s in safety kayaks. Unfortunately the flow was still too high to accomplish the recovery.
A static line was securely rigged across the river and a raft deployed from the line with a tag line to put it into position. Because of the river flow, the 3 deputies and rescue equipment in the raft were too unstable to ensure the safety of the team above the strainer where Will is located. It was a real disappointment to everyone involved.
The Sheriff reported to us another recovery will be attempted when the flow drops well below 4000.
The first photo was taken in the morning of safety teams being shuttled across to the right side of the river. The last videos are of the system being de-rigged after the aborted recovery effort in the late afternoon.
Kern and Tulare Search and Rescue struggling to retrieve kayaker's body from Kern River
The speed and high flows of the Kern River are hampering rescue crews' efforts, but they say they'll stay until it's done.
By: Corey O'Leary, 23ABC
Jun 15, 2023
KERNVILLE, Calif. (KERO) — The search continues tonight for the body of a man who died yesterday in the Kern River. Roughly 40 workers from both Kern County and Tulare County Search and Rescue Teams gathered at the Ant Canyon Campground north of Kernville to retrieve the body of the kayaker who died in the Kern River on Wednesday, June 14.
According to Sergeant Joe Saldana with KCSO Search and Rescue, one of the challenges facing the team is the water they're searching is currently a Class 5 rapids. "The water is running through here swiftly. The CFS is pretty high and there are a lot of obstacles, technical obstacles, that come into the situation when we are trying to run the subject," said Saldana.
KCSO is assisting the Tulare Sheriff's Office with the rescue with swift water specialists on site. The location of the kayaker's body is known and officials have a line of sight on it. However, the victim is still with the kayak, pinned to brush under the surface. Media Supervisor Ashley Ritchie with TCSO says the safety of the rescue team is a top priority. "It's life or death. With a tragic incident like this you see when 5 very experienced individuals, when something like this happens, it is an incredible risk for anybody to be on the water," said Ritchie.
The 5 experienced kayakers were traveling down the river when one of them got stuck in a dangerous situation. The 4 other kayakers who were with him attempted a rescue. "Four kayakers were trying to rescue the fifth for about an hour, but the flows were too big so they couldn't get him out," said Ritchie.
Search and Rescue says they are still formulating a plan to retrieve the fifth kayaker's body. One method discussed would involve using a helicopter, but given the pressure of the river, it would be too difficult for a single person to extract the body. Another option would be to send a crew on a raft that is attached to a rope running across the river. "So basically we are watching the weather. There is just not a lot we can… We have to wait for a cooling trend. Once that cooling trend appears, which it looks like it will be about Tuesday or Wednesday, and we can go in and get him," said Ritchie.
Ethan Moore, a local professional kayaker, spoke off-off camera about some of the kayakers involved, and that they believed the accident wasn't caused by the higher flows of the river, but was rather what he described as the result of a freak accident. Executive Director of the Kern River Conservancy Gary Ananian, who went up to the area to learn more about the rescue efforts, says he hasn't seen anything like this. "I've been here 10 years and I've never seen anybody on the kayaker level drown on this river," said Ananian. SAR plans on being near the site of the accident until they are able to retrieve the body and will be giving updates as needed.
‘Horribly tragic’: Kayaker dead on Kern River, deputies say
by: Victoria Meza, yourcentralvalley.com
Posted: Jun 15, 2023 / 05:28 PM PDT
TULARE COUNTY, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – Authorities are still making efforts to rescue the kayaker that was found dead on the Kern River, according to the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday. The Tulare County Sheriff’s Office says they received a call regarding five people trapped in their kayaks with one dead on Wednesday right before 5:30 p.m.
Deputies say upon arrival, they learned that the four individuals were not trapped but trying to help their friend.
“Those four individuals, for what I’ve been told, were trying to save their friends and took a good part of an hour to help him, and it just was the situation that couldn’t be reversed, and it’s horribly tragic,” said Ashley Schwarm with the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies from Tulare and Kern Counties say the water’s high flow is too dangerous, so they haven’t been able to retrieve the body that is, according to sheriff’s officials, still in the kayak flipped over.
Tulare County Sheriff’s Office says they know the position of the kayak, but due to its location and the dangerous high flow of the water, which is about 600 cubic feet per second (CFS), they are not able to retrieve the body and are still waiting for the water to cool down.
Sheriff’s officials states the five individuals were professional kayakers, and they knew what they were doing. “We hate to see anything like this ever happen. It’s tragic all around. These guys knew what they were doing, they were not doing anything wrong, and unfortunately one of them got into a situation that he couldn’t get out of,” said Schwarm.
The Tulare County Sheriff’s Office says they tried to ask for help from CHP to retrieve the body via helicopter, but it was not safe for them either.
Sheriff’s officials explained the water can change at any second, and it could get anyone in a situation from which they will not be able to get out, which is why they remind everyone to stay away from the water. According to deputies, the Kern River is closed to the public, but it’s open for professional kayakers and rafters.
