A 66-year-old Eugene man died after the kayak he was in overturned in the McKenzie River Tuesday, Aug. 19, the Lane County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday.

Gregory Dale Gipson died at an area hospital, according to the sheriff’s office.

The Lane County Sheriff’s Marine Patrol, a deputy and McKenzie Fire & Rescue personnel responded at about 4 p.m. to a report of capsized kayaks and two people in the river near Dearborn Island Road, roughly 45 miles east of Springfield near the community of Rainbow.

Both people were wearing life jackets, according to the sheriff’s office. A sheriff’s office spokesperson said he did not believe the second person required hospitalization.

https://lookouteugene-springfield.com/story/justice/2025/08/20/kayaker-dies-after-being-pulled-from-mckenzie-river/