On April 27th, 2025, at approximately 2:30PM, a party consisting of ~20 floaters in ~10 rented boats from a local concessioner were floating from Steel Creek to Kyle's Landing in the upper district of the Buffalo River. During the trip one or more of the boats (It is believed 1 canoe and 1 sit on top kayak) became pinned against the remnants of a tree stump on river right just past the 'Big Bluff' landmark, which led to the entrapment of a female 10-year-old victim. The victim was trapped by the canoe underwater for several minutes. 2 nearby campers responded to the cries for help from the party, entered the water and managed to lift the canoe off the victim, grab the victim by the leg and get her on shore. Another passing group contained a trained EMT (possibly a firefighter) which joined the rescue effort and began performing CPR and rescue breathes on the victim. After several minutes of resuscitation efforts the victim began to breathe again on their own. The victim also sustained notable head injuries, believed to be from the force of the boat pushing against the stump during the entrapment.
Another passing paddler was able to notify (this is a very remote section of Arkansas, and only Satellite Communications typically work) the National Park Service, and Newton County Arkansas 911, as well as send text messages to a local Concessioner who was present in the area. 2 NPS Employees and the Concessioner (who is an ACA L4 SWR Instructor and a volunteer SAR team member) immediately got on the river in kayaks and got to the site shortly thereafter. The SAR team then coordinated with North Arkansas Regional Medical Center’s lifeflight helicopter to land on a nearby gravel bar on the river. Once the helicopter had landed, the victim was placed on the helicopter and evacuated to a hospital in Springfield, MO for treatment, and was expected to be released as of this writing. Several other members of the party who were involved in the accident, but not seriously injured (scrapes and bruises) were evacuated via the Mennonite Disaster Services’ Airboat, which also arrived on scene. A large portion of the party who were not directly involved in the accident chose to discontinue the float and hiked back to Steele Creek with the assistance of the NPS SAR team.
Other notable details: The stump has been exposed more and more by the spring rains and flood events that have been causing erosion on the river right bank at this location, though it does not have the traditional look of a ‘strainer’ (A tree with a long trunk and branches) common to the Buffalo River. Currently (As of 4/29/25) the stump is still in the river, though floating, and being held in place by significant root structure still in the dirt. The current at the 200CFS water level (which is considered low for this stretch by the NPS, but still well above the 140CFS minimum recommended for floating) clearly leads into the hazard, but with proper boat control can be easily avoided. April 27th has been among the busiest floating days of the Spring 2025 season on the Upper Buffalo, and most all other boaters were able to avoid the hazard with minimal effort. I personally navigated past the hazard in my own kayak on April 28th, 2025 with minimal effort, and watched approximately 20 craft (both sit-on-top kayaks and canoes) also navigate the hazard successfully.
It is unknown whether the victim was wearing their PFD at the time of the incident – none of the witnesses I spoke too could say for sure, however it was stated that the parents of the victims *were* wearing their PFDs post incident. It is notable that Arkansas State Law requires children 12 and under to wear a USCG approved PFD while on a boat.
Information on this accident was gathered by myself, after speaking to the 2 gentlemen who lifted the boat from the victim, the EMT who performed the resuscitation, the floater who contacted the authorities using his satellite enabled cell phone, and one of the NPS employees and the concessioner who responded to the scene. I also personally inspected the site of the accident 24 hours later, and provided my analysis of the hazard as an ACA L4 SWR instructor and advanced kayaker.
The victim and their family have chosen at this time not to discuss the accident any further, and we’ll honor their privacy. All best effort was made to be accurate and timely in this report. Corrections and additions from the community or witnesses are welcome and appreciated.
