From Dan Hoffman via FB: I was the trip leader involving a death on the Gates of Lodore, June 27, 2025. There were some reports of the oarsman, an experienced former river guide, not wearing a pfd. That was not the case. He was wearing a pfd, it was ripped of him as his body was swept down Hells Half Mile. His body was recovered without a pfd. When we dislodged the boat that had him pinned, at the top of Hell's Half Mile, he had his life jacket on. We weren't able to catch him as the boat came free. We had a boat waiting in the eddie a the bottom of the rapid. They went out to intercept when they saw his life jacket, only to find it empty.
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — A Utah fire captain has been identified as the man who died in a “rafting accident” in Colorado earlier this week, according to officials.
Captain Michael Harp, 54, was rafting along the Green River when he was involved in the accident, according to a press release from the Salt Lake City Fire Department. Harp was a second-generation firefighter and a 27-year veteran of the Salt Lake City Fire Department, the department said.
River Patrol Rangers were called out to look for Harp. They made their way through the Canyon of Lodore to reach the group, but were unable to locate him.
Officials said they heard from members of a commercial rafting company Friday morning. Their guides found Harp's body about 10 miles downstream. An air ambulance was called to the scene and transported Harp's body to the Moffatt County coroner's office in Colorado.
