Accident Database

Report ID# 2834

Help
  • Caught in a Natural Hydraulic
  • Does not Apply
  • Other

Accident Description

Woodstock boy drowns on rafting trip in Colorado
By Dietrich Knauth, Freeman staff
07/30/2008

AN 8-YEAR-OLD boy from Woodstock has died in a kayak accident while on vacation with his family in Colorado, authorities there said on Wednesday.Owen Gerson was on a rafting trip on the Green River with his parents and 11-year-old brother when the inflatable kayak he was riding with his father flipped over in the rapids Sunday afternoon and dumped the two of them into the river, according to Lt. K.C. Hume of the Moffat County, Colo., Sheriff's Office.
 
Owen's father, Stephane Alexandre, was rescued quickly by people on a raft in the group, and other guides searched aggressively for Owen, Hume said. The boy's body was found an hour-and-a-half later, submerged and pinned against a rock, the lieutenant said.
 
Hume said the trip, led jointly by Don Hatch River Expeditions and OARS Adventure Travel, had 24 customers and about 10 guides. He said they left from the Gates of Ladore, an entry point into the Ladore Canyon section of the Green River, Sunday morning. The accident happened around 5:30 p.m. that day.
 
Hume said the tragedy was compounded by the remoteness of the accident location. Unable to exit the canyon quickly, and out of reach of police and rescue vehicles, the expedition members had to travel for nearly a full day after recovering Owen's body until they reached a landing point about 1:30 p.m. Monday.
 
"This is truly a tragic incident, not only for the family, but also for the rest of the people on the river that day," Hume said.Hume said both Owen and his father were wearing life jackets and helmets when the accident occurred.
 
The Green River, the largest tributary of the Colorado River, lies largely in Utah and also traverses Colorado and Wyoming. Moffat County, where the kayak overturned and where the journey ended in Dinosaur National Monument, is in the northwest corner of Colorado, near the Utah border.

 

8-year-old drowns on Green River

Craig, CO Daily Press July 29, 2008

 

A young boy drowned Sunday on the Green River in Dinosaur National Monument while on a rafting trip with his family, the Moffat County Sheriff’s Office reported Monday night. The family, from Woodstock, N.Y., was in the area on vacation, Sheriff’s Office investigator K.C. Hume said.

The trip was led by O.A.R.S., a national outdoor guide company with an office in Vernal, Utah. The family was part of a roughly 20-person group that had begun their river tour at the Gates of Ladore earlier Sunday morning. The boy, 8-year-old Owen Gerson, was in an inflatable kayak with his father, Stephane, when rapids overturned the pair’s craft. According to a Sheriff’s Office news release, the father was able to reach another raft from the commercial trip but the boy was not. Reports say the boy was last seen near the shoreline before going out of sight.

Commercial guides initiated “an aggressive search” for the boy, according to the news release. About an hour and a half after the pair entered the water, the boy was found submerged in the river against a rock. The father and son were wearing life jackets and helmets at the time of the incident. Owen’s mother, Alison, also was on the trip.

Law enforcement officers think the events were accidental, Hume said. “It’s a truly tragic, unfortunate event for the family and the folks on the river with them,” he said.

8-year-old drowns on Green River

 

Craig, CO Daily Press July 29, 2008 A young boy drowned Sunday on the Green River in Dinosaur National Monument while on a rafting trip with his family, the Moffat County Sheriff’s Office reported Monday night. The family, from Woodstock, N.Y., was in the area on vacation, Sheriff’s Office investigator K.C. Hume said. The trip was led by O.A.R.S., a national outdoor guide company with an office in Vernal, Utah. The family was part of a roughly 20-person group that had begun their river tour at the Gates of Ladore earlier Sunday morning.

The boy, 8-year-old Owen Gerson, was in an inflatable kayak with his father, Stephane, when rapids overturned the pair’s craft. According to a Sheriff’s Office news release, the father was able to reach another raft from the commercial trip but the boy was not. Reports say the boy was last seen near the shoreline before going out of sight. Commercial guides initiated “an aggressive search” for the boy, according to the news release. About an hour and a half after the pair entered the water, the boy was found submerged in the river against a rock.

The father and son were wearing life jackets and helmets at the time of the incident. Owen’s mother, Alison, also was on the trip. Law enforcement officers think the events were accidental, Hume said. “It’s a truly tragic, unfortunate event for the family and the folks on the river with them,” he said.

Join AW and support river stewardship nationwide!