Accident Database

Report ID# 2377

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  • Caught in a Natural Hydraulic
  • Does not Apply
  • One Boat Trip

Accident Description

http://www.ksat.com/news/13403740/detail.html

SAN ANTONIO -- Authorities said a man fell to his death after going over a waterfall on Cibolo Creek in Kendall County on Monday. The body of Cliff Walker, 58, was recovered about one mile downstream from the waterfall.

The Kendall County fire marshall said Walker and his 13-year-old son planned to float the creek from Boerne to Fair Oaks ranch in a canoe. The father and son made their way down the creek and reached Herff Falls, a narrow and rocky part of the creek that drops 20 feet. Investigators believe the pair tried to turn back but the canoe ended up going over the falls. The boy managed to get to shore safely and call for help at a nearby subdivision.

Walker was a former Army colonel assigned to the veterinary command at Ft. Sam Houston.

Streamkeeper's note:

Further sources clarify that the canoe capsized in the rapid, and both paddlers were thrown into the water.  Probable cause of death was drowning or impact trauma, but details are unknown.  Gauge reading is from Selma, somewhat downstream, and applies only to the morning of the accident.  Exact flow data from the Boerne gauge on the day in question is not available.

http://www.acvpm.org/userfiles/ACVPM-Spring-2007-Newsletter.pdf

 

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