Accident Database

Report ID# 119382

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  • Flush Drowning
  • Health Problem
  • Heart Attack / Heart Failure
  • Cold Water
  • High Water

Accident Description


On May 10th there was a double fatality on Idaho’s remote Selway river. Water levels were very high, and  continued to rise during their trip. There was considerable debris in the river. The party consisted of small rafts, kayaks, and catarafts. They were very experienced; several were veteran whitewater guides. Many of us have paddled rivers at very high water, and this accident shows how situations can become hard to manage under these conditions.

On the fourth day the group scouted ahead and decided to portage Ladle, the biggest drop on the run.  Approaching the carry, a two-man raft flipped on a strong eddyline. Although one man quickly righted the boat, his partner, Matt Lane, 35, did not get back to the raft. A kayaker reached Mr. Lane and was towing him towards the eddy when all of the sudden he let go. The kayaker and his rafting partner described Mr. Lanes face going white. His rafting partner immediately pulled him into the boat, and caught the next eddy while another member of the group jumped into the boat and started CPR. Once they got him to shore they continued CPR as Mr. Lane was still unresponsive. They activated a Garmin InReach device and a member of the party ran upstream to Moose Creek Ranger Station to fetch a portable defibrillator.

These efforts were unsuccessful, and an autopsy later revealed that he had suffered a massive heart attack. But as Mr. Lane was being taken ashore three other rafts pulled into a wild, surging eddy nearby. Things got really hectic. The eddy was up against a cliff with few places  to hold onto. Keeping all the boats in the eddy while getting one of the party, who was a nurse, out to help with CPR was incredibly difficult. After roping him around in his raft to Mr. Lane, his empty raft quickly swung back into the current, pulling Dan Trianafillou, 41, and his partner in an oar boat into the current and downstream. They also had another small raft attached to them from the group members who jumped to help start CPR on Mr. Lane. As they were headed towards WaPoots, a rapid downstream, one of their safety kayaker threw them a rope but they were unable to get it in time. That’s when they washed through WaPoots and were headed for Ladle. 

Mr.  Trianafillou, a veteran guide with 20 years of experience, tried to work his oar boat over to the right, but due to the current they were unable to make it over in time and flipped in a huge hole at the top of ladle. They swam through ladle and a number of rapids below it. Another group of kayakers who were scouting Ladle moved in to help as soon as they saw them flip. They rescued one of the rafters, but Mr. Trianafillou was carried downstream further. The kayakers found him two rapids below where they rescued the other rafter, but he was unresponsive. It took them a few minutes to be able to push him ashore, and when they did, they attempted CPR but it was unsuccessful. There were some signs of a head injury which could have compromised his survival chances.

The members of the party working on Mr. Lane did not learn what had happened downstream until roughly two hours later which is when the second message was sent out via the InReach device. The group worked on Mr. Lane for three hours until EMT’s from a Life Flight helicopter pronounced him dead. Life Flight was unable to evacuate the deceased, and an attempt by the US Forest Service mule team to reach them was unsuccessful due to steep terrain. At first the sheriff’s department requested the group to continue rafting down stream to get the bodies out, but after two members of the group went to the ranger station the next morning and relayed to them that was not an option, a private company was called. Two Bear Air responded and utilized a helicopter winch system to recover their bodies. The rest of the group hiked out with the help from another rafting group who took some of their supplies and took a few members in their catarafts after Moose Creek.

 

This is pretty much the worst place on the river to chase someone. 

Selway River deaths: a cascade of tragedy 

One rafter died of heart attack; another drowned

By Eric Barker, Lewiston, ID Tribune

One of the two men who perished on the Selway River earlier this month suffered a massive heart attack. The other drowned in a mishap that cascaded from the frantic effort to save the first. Matt Lane, 35, and Daniel Trianafillou, 41, lost their lives on the river. They were both professional whitewater guides from Colorado on a private, early-season rafting trip down the river that carves its way through the 1.3-million-acre Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness. This account comes from interviews with one member of the team made up of expert rafters and one member of Lane’s family. Shane Turnbull, who was on the trip, is a rafting outfitter from western Washington who trained Lane and gave him his first guiding job. Ruth Lane is the older sister of Matt Lane — a guide with 15 years of experience who had run the Selway each of the previous five years.

On May 10, the rafters and kayakers pulled into an eddy downstream of Double Drop Rapid for a group meeting. Looming ahead was Ladle, a boulder-strewn Class IV rapid made even more difficult by the surging river, followed in quick procession by a string of class III and IV rapids. The Selway was swollen with spring snowmelt and reaching a level that brings extra peril. Turnbull said they had hiked downriver to scout Ladle that morning and he and Matt decided it would be best to portage it or line their boats through its more difficult top end. They pushed off to proceed downstream but the Hyside Mini Max raft that Lane and another man were in flipped when it hit the seam of the eddy.

It was a mistake but not an emergency. They quickly righted the small, maneuverable raft. Lane held on to the back of a kayak as he prepared to get back in the boat. “All of a sudden his eyes went blank and he just kind of let go of the kayak and slipped into the water,” Turnbull said. “He was in the water for like two seconds. I’m not kidding about that. It was only two seconds and they grabbed him really quick.”

The other members of the trip pulled Lane into a boat and then swung into another eddy — this one much smaller at the base of a talus slope. They put him on a backboard and immediately started CPR and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. In the rush to treat Lane, they didn’t secure the boats. The river surged and at least one of the boats slipped off the mossy rocks. Trianafillou, who goes by Rescue or Rescue Dan, went after it. He and the passenger on his boat were carried downstream.

Turnbull said it would have been better to let the boat go. “Dan didn’t know that the rapid was right around the corner and, with the water being so fast, he didn’t have time to pull over, and so he flipped over in that rapid,” Turnbull said. Another party of kayakers who had just run Ladle did what they could to help the pair.

“They saw her swim and rescued her, but she had lost track of Rescue Dan as they were going through the rapid down below Ladle and so she got to shore, but Rescue Dan swam a couple miles, and, of course, he drowned.” The kayakers initiated CPR on Dan but he did not respond.

The members of the party working on Matt wouldn’t learn of Dan’s fate until later in the day. The group included experienced guides well versed in CPR and an emergency room technician. A registered nurse hiking the Selway Trail helped. And members of the party ran upstream to Moose Creek Ranger Station to fetch a portable defibrillator. They worked on him for three hours before EMTs from a Life Flight helicopter pronounced him dead. Turnbull said during that time they never felt a pulse.

After the trip, Turbull and others shared their accounts with Matt’s family. Ruth Lane said her mother and stepfather decided to have a private autopsy performed in Seattle.

According to the preliminary report, he suffered what is known as a widowmaker heart attack caused by blockage of the left anterior descending artery. She said the pathologist told them Matt was the youngest person he had seen to suffer that type of cardiac arrest and that his artery was almost entirely blocked.

“There was almost nothing that could have been done in that moment to save him. He was dead instantly, essentially,” Ruth Lane said, repeating the pathologist’s words. They were told he may have died even if it had happened in an emergency room. “There was no evidence of drowning. His lungs were clear of water and full of air,” she said.

Her brother loved the outdoors, natural history and was a talented guitarist who was looking forward to playing in a music festival this summer. “The Selway was his very favorite place on earth. He just absolutely loved it.”

She was comforted to learn from his friends that her brother was “Mr. Safety on the river.” All of the members of the trip wore dry suits and helmets. They were skilled boaters with training in wilderness first aid. Most had logged previous early season trips on the Selway.

“I’m so sad about his loss, and especially sad that the chaos resulted in his friend’s death. And you know, just that all of these people who loved the whitewater and this trip as much as Matt did, now have this trauma around it,” she said. “But I am so happy that he was in a place that he loved, with people that he loved.” “He was in just a really happy place, emotionally.”

In a guest book to his online obituary, Dan’s friends and family described him as selfless and big hearted with contagious laugh. He grew up in Michigan and loved the outdoors, skiing and soccer. In addition to guiding, he ran a hot dog stand at Buena Vista, Colo.

Turnbull said each of the group members love rafting and were attracted to the Selway not so much by its big rapids but because it is such a special place.

“When people ask me why I do it, it’s because of all that,” Turnbull said. “Being able to drift through some of the more remote places with the most beautiful scenery that you’ll never see from a road and the camaraderie that goes with it.”

Barker may be contacted at ebarker@lmtribune.com.

Water level was high; 5.5 at Paradise

Idaho County Sheriff's Office on FB 

On May 10, 2025, at approximately 1:24 PM, Idaho County Dispatch received a call from the International Emergency Response Coordination Center (IERCC). They had received an SOS activation from a Garmin inReach device advising CPR was in progress at a location up the Selway River between Double Drop and Wa-Poots. This is part of the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness Area and is approximately 19 miles from the end of the road and is not accessible by motor vehicle.
 
At approximately 3:40 PM, Idaho County Dispatch received a text to 911 stating they had just discovered a second person in their party had also flipped into the water and CPR was in progress. They advised they were approximately 2 miles downstream from the original SOS activation. They were both a part of a rafting group.
 
Life Flight responded to the first location, and advised the patient was deceased. They also confirmed the death of the second patient. Due to the location and equipment needed, they were unable to transport them out. The US Forest Service attempted to reach them via mules but were unable to get to the location due to the steep terrain.
The next day, Two Bear Air responded. Due to the flooding conditions and steep terrain, they utilized their helicopter winch system to get them both out of the canyon to Cedar Flats where they were turned over to the Idaho County Coroner.
 
Names are not being released as family notifications are pending. Our thoughts and prayers go out to both families during this difficult time. Idaho County Sheriff Doug Ulmer would also like to thank Life Flight, Two Bear Air, the US Forest Service, Three Rivers Rafting and Coroner Cody Funke for the cooperation and willingness to help.
 
 

Names of rafting victims on Selway River released

Both Daniel Trianafillou, 41, and Matthew Lane, 35, lived in Colorado

Lewiston Tribune

Idaho County Coroner Cody Funke released the names of two people who died while rafting the upper Selway River Saturday. Both Daniel Trianafillou, 41, and Matthew Lane, 35, lived in Colorado but their towns of residence were not immediately available. Funke said the cause of death for both men is still pending.

According to the Idaho County Sheriff’s Office, the rafting group the men were a part of encountered trouble in a section of river between Double Drop and Wa-Poots rapids. Efforts to revive the men with CPR were not successful.

 

The group launched at 12k CFS  and were on day 4 of a great trip. The level at the time of the incident was roughly 19k. This was the at or near the high water mark for the season and caused massive wood to be moving downstream. The group was taking the day very serious, and a plan was made to set safety to and portage ladle with anyone that felt funny about it. There was an in depth safety talk and plans were in place to respond to any incident including the use of radios, garmin in reach's, med kits, providers. The 3 Kayakers were also staged strategically throughout the group. 

After scouting double drop through Ladle the group left an eddy above double drop with a plan to link up again (large group) in the eddy above lapoots and or Ladle. One of the small rafts (minimax) was being R2'd, they ran double drop smoothly and later flipped on an eddyline river-right in an un-named runout rapid. One of the swimmers Matt Lane was not swimming normally and was struggling to break the eddyline. A kayaker then towed him further into the eddy when he let go of the kayak. He then went unconscious a few feet away from his original raft, which his partner had already uprighted and was paddling to shore just downstream of Matt. He was pulled into his raft and found pulseless. CPR was inititated immediately in the boat, (another rafter jumping on) as it was manuevered into an eddy, and he was pulled on shore.  CPR EPI and after getting to it an AED was in use. This was later confirmed to be a heart attack in the autopsy report. 

The group was spread out amongst 3-4 eddys and most of the group was unaware of the full situation. One of the boats had eddied into a cliffed out section of an eddy that was cycling upsteam. One group member was attempting to hold the boat in place when other boats grabbed onto their boat in an effort to get into the eddy and get more providers to the scene of the arrest asap. When CPR was noticed the group used a rope to swing a cat boat further down in the eddy being manned by a nurse with a large med kit.  Additional group members joined the effort which left the weight of three boats in a small current on the rope that was being held by a group member without any real purchase on the shore. The team member on shore was drug into the water and had to release the boat which had two other boats attached. This was being manned by Dan, who was in a oar-rig 14 raft loaded with gear, and had a passenger. As they washed dowstream they released one of the boats which was conveniently caught in a strainer. A downstream kayaker on shore threw them a rope but it was unable to be grabbed in time, of note 55 ft of rope was used and was just long enough to get there but not long enough to give them time to grab it. The oar rig and passenger then ran lapoots successfully on the right side avoiding the massive logpile running from the left shore to center river. They then were able to release the other empty boat they had attached to them and attempted to ferry to the right above ladle to make the eddy. They flipped (unknown to the group) on a guard rock/pourover at the top of the rapid. The kayaker paddled down to above ladle and could not see the raft and was not aware of the CPR on going upstream. Torn bewtween setting saferty there to catch boats or chase the raft downstream, he got on shore in an attempt to get a better vantage and could not see any boats coming nor the raft downstream. He ran the scout trail dowstrean in an attempt to locate the raft. 

 4 kayakers from another group were scouting ladle when they saw the raft round the corner and flip. They immediately followed downstream to help the swimmers. The first swimmer was reached somwhere around puzzle creek rapid and was taken to shore with no injuries. The kayaker then immediatley went for the other swimmer and found him an additional mile or so downstream floating facedown. The kayakers in his group (random party) caught up and they were able to make it to the shore with Dan where it was noted that the he had a noticeable head injury, and his helmet was not in place. The kayakers attempted CPR unsuccessfully. A garmin In-reach had been activated within ten minutes. Flight for life arrived on scene after landing at Selway lodge and hiking in roughly 2 hours post incident. They continued efforts and ultimately called it after seeing no change to the patient after 2 hours of CPR had been performed and EPI had been given. The group also had sent a runner upstream to get an AED and it had been in place with no schock advised for the last hour. The medics then made their way down the trail and confirmed the death of the other victim Dan. 

The group then camped at ladle formulating a plan to get the deceased out. Initially we were told rafting was the only option and everyone was on board with walking out as the river was still rising and the group was not psychologically ready to boat and wanted to support the rest of the group getting out together. The following day a private helicopter service two bear air was able to respond with a hoist and extract the deceased. The group then cached all gear taking what was necessary to complete the 25 river miles of trail to the takeout.

Of note contrary to other stories and accounts even within the group Dan was not attempting to retrieve gear as it was stated in safety talks that morning several times that no gear was worth the risk of life and that all efforts would be put toward the safety of the group. Dan known as rescue was no doubt someone that would make every attempt to help the situation in any way he could and did not make a decision (to chase gear as some have thought) that could be seen as reckless/trivial. He would have never chosen to leave a situation with CPR being performed on a friend to go recover gear. He was simply pulled into the current on a high runnning river. 

Also of note a group of Cat boaters who were just behind the group and portaging ladle were instrumental in helping the remaining team members in any way that they could, including shuttling gear down to a campsite for the now hikers and feeding them.

Also of note the park service was wanting to have the cached gear removed ASAP as it was a danger to wildlife etc on the shore. A group of very generous guides/locals with ties to 3 Rivers Rafting were able to recover the gear as soon the water had become a more manangeable level. Enough thanks cannot be said for understanding the situation and supporting in the way they did. This allowed most of the group to attend a memorial and took a huge burden off the team. The river community has shown outstanding support in every way. We hope the river community can continue loving wild places like the beautiful Selway, but remain aware of the factors of high water/large group size/ Murphy's law, that can turn a great trip/plan into a trajedy.