Three kayakers arrived at the take-out for a class I-II run on Decker's, South Platte River at 6pm and were told by a group of tubers that two of their friends had missed the take-out 45 minutes before and floated (on tubes, no PFDs, wearing only shorts, no cold-water gear) into Waterton Canyon (very cold water, solid class III+ run). (Yes, I was one of the kayakers.)
The tubers told us that they had located one of the two friends and reported that he was out of the river but had a "broken leg or foot." The second friend had not been located.
This is a remote canyon near Conifer, CO. There is no cell service there.
The tubers had not attempted to call for help yet. They stated that they were not sure who to call.
The kayakers had two iPhones with emergency SATCOM capability, and a Garmin. The kayakers told the tubers that they needed to call 911 immediately, and confirmed that the tubers had phones with SATCOM emergency capability.
The kayakers then grabbed throw bags and dry bags with first aid kits and, still wearing everything but their spray skirts (ie, helmets, type V rescue vests (suitable for live-bait rescues), full cold-water boating gear, boating footwear, 3 carabiners each in PFD pockets, and our emergency comm devices), started walking down the dirt road on river-left. We did not try to boat down to the tubers because Waterton Canyon was above the boating capability of one of the kayakers; the tubers were at least 45 minutes ahead of us, rather than JUST in front of us; rescue efforts would most likely require us to get out of boats anyway; it was late enough that visibility was becoming questionable (very hard to see rocks just barely under the water surface); we were all familiar with the dirt road on river-left and knew we could safely walk to the end of the rapids (about two miles downstream).
After walking about 20 minutes downstream, the kayakers located the injured party. One of the tubers had swum across the river (without a PFD) to be with the injured person. They both appeared to be safe and relatively stable. The kayakers told them that 911 had been called, that help was en route, and that they should stay put and await professional rescuers. The kayakers continued downstream to try to find the missing tuber.
The kayakers noted a pink tube on river right. we also noted a blue item, caught in wood on river right, near the bottom of all the rapids. We knew that the blue item was not related to this incident; we had seen it there several months before
At the bottom of the Waterton Canyon run, where the river is flatwater before flowing into a reservoir (that one cannot reach on foot due to the canyon walls), the kayakers encountered another member of the tubers group. She was extremely distraught, convinced that her friend had drowned. She was able to tell us that the pink tube belonged to the injured person, not the missing person. she also told us what color tube the missing person had
The kayakers were concerned about impending darkness and cold temperatures. We tried to console her, stating that the outcome of the situation was not known yet; her friend might have exited the river on the far bank and was not visible in the woods trying to hike back upstream; her friend might have made it into the reservoir. It was not possible to continue walking downstream toward the reservoir, due to the nature of the canyon walls. Even without the issue with the canyon walls, it was now late and we were concerned about darkness and cold temps.
Another person from the tuber group arrived at the bottom of the canyon and took over care for the distraught individual. The kayakers started walking back upstream, looking at the river from a different angle to examine spots where the missing tuber might have been trapped underwater.
The first rescue vehicle, a truck with a small raft on a trailer, arrived on scene as the kayakers reached river-left across from the injured individual on river right. We reported the information we had gathered (pink tube belonged to injured party, blue item in wood not related to this incident; three additional individuals currently on path downstream of rescuers (safe on land but very distraught) ).
The professional rescuers did not need any further assistance from us, so we headed back upstream to the parking lot. These rescuers also told us that additional assistance was being provided from downstream. Dive teams had already been dispatched to the reservoir.
I exchanged phone numbers with one of the tubers, and asked her to let me know how their injured friend was doing and when their missing friend was found. I also restated that we did not know the outcome yet; the missing friend might be trying to hike back up the far side of the river or he might have made it to the reservoir.
I was surprised and thrilled when she texted me at 11pm that the missing person had been found alive, somewhat hypothermic, at the reservoir, and that both tubers were at the hospital
Lessons learned:
Make sure you know your takeout
Wear a PFD
Always have a comm device that will work even when you don't have a cell signal. This has also been essential in a number of mountaineering rescues in Colorado this year.
Call 911 right away if you think you need help. The injured tuber on the wrong side of the river was going to need assistance. The missing tuber was a serious emergency. Calling sooner lets teams get to you sooner. In this case, rescuers were able to get on-scene before dark. The tubers said that they were glad that the kayakers told them to call 911 right away.
It is valuable to stay calm and consider ALL the possible outcomes (rather than just the worst case, even if it seems to be the most likely) while you don't know the final outcome yet.
There were enough people in the tubers' group that they could have stayed in pairs, rather than having anyone walking around the river alone. Perhaps this "buddy system" would be worth mentioning to your trips during the safety talk at the start.
Final thoughts:
The kayakers made a conscious decision not to try to get to the injured person when we determined he was relatively stable and professional help was en route.
It is important to have swiftwater rescue training if you are going to spend time around whitewater.
