Rich Bolden I believe it was more than a foot entrapment(leg, body) because there was a large horizontal and a vertical cut on her thigh, to the bone.
Maryland woman drowns in kayak incident in Warren County
By Alex Bridges
The Northern Virginia Daily
Diane Spata, 59, of Bowie, was kayaking on the South Fork of the Shenandoah River at approximately 12:30 p.m. when the water craft capsized just north of the Karo public boat landing, according to information provided by First Sgt. Derrick Kekic, of the Department of Wildlife Resources, on Monday. The victim was not wearing a personal floatation device, Kekic said by phone. The victim and her sister had been kayaking in a section of the river known for rapids.
The department received the report at 12:36 p.m. of a kayak-related incident involving a single female unaccounted for, Kekic said by phone. A Warren County Department of Fire and Rescue Services swiftwater rescue crew and officers with the Warren County Sheriff’s Office arrived on the scene. Responding personnel, including an agent from the state department, could see the victim underwater, Kekic said. The crew tried, unsuccessfully at first, to rescue the victim since her leg was stuck by a rock, Kekic said.
Investigators determined later that the kayak capsized and the victim’s leg became stuck by a rock and she was held underwater by the quick flow of the river, Kekic said. The water was approximately 3 feet deep. The victim had put in the kayak from a launch site at a property she owns, and she and her sister had planned to take out at another boat landing upriver.
“This is the first of the year,” Kekic said. “People are just getting out and boating with the warmer weather. “We would always remind folks to wear their floatation devices if they’re unfamiliar with the water or inexperienced, we recommend portaging around any rapids,” Kekic said.
The victim has been sent to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Manassas for an autopsy, Kekic said. The Department of Wildlife Resources is investigating the incident.
– Contact Alex Bridges at abridges@nvdaily.com
