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Report ID# 2937

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Accident Description

Victim of river rafting drowning described as funny and artistic

Katie DeRosa, Victoria Times Colonist

Published: Tuesday, August 19, 2008

The Victoria woman who drowned in the Chilliwack River during a guided river-rafting expedition has been identified as 23-year-old Kelsey Hemstock. Hemstock was on a raft with six other passengers when it hit a rock and flipped in an area known as the Tamihi Rapids. Chilliwack RCMP and Chilliwack Search and Rescue were called to the river near the Tamihi bridge on Chilliwack Lake Road around 5:45 p.m. Saturday.

Rescuers did not recover her body, which was wedged in a submerged, undercut crevice of a large rock, until shortly after 7 p.m. Chilliwack RCMP Const. Lee-Ann Dunlop said several witnesses have been interviewed, and the RCMP confirmed the death was accidental. Kelsey Hemstock was rafting with her boyfriend and other co-workers, a friend said.

Victoria woman dies rafting on Chilliwack River

Canwest News Service

Sunday, August 17, 2008

The body of a 23-year-old woman from Victoria was recovered from the Chilliwack River Saturday. The young woman was on a guided rafting tour when the raft flipped and she became separated from the raft, swept down river and subsequently became trapped and drowned, witnesses said. Walter Balaz said he was scouting fishing spots above and below a bridge when he saw a man swimming in the white water. He soon found out that two rafts had come down the river and that one had flipped after hitting a large rock.

Balaz said he watched as the search-and-rescue effort unfolded and the crew worked in the rough waters. He estimated an hour passed before a member of the crew indicated the body had been located. "A whistle sounded, he had found something," Balaz said, adding that the experience had left him feeling shaken. Police have not released the woman's name, pending notification of next of kin. Witness Lydia Warkentim said the raft "first went sideways and then it flipped" after hitting the rock. She said six of the seven people in the group floated down the river and were pulled to on a second raft or nearby kayaks. It wasn't until later that she realized someone had "gone down."

Warketim's husband Walter said the rafters were all wearing helmets and life-jackets. "The rafting company did what they could," he said. "The first one tipped one tipped and the other one was right behind. It's amazing how the girl went straight down." In a telephone interview, RCMP Const. Lee-Anne Dunlop said the investigation is ongoing and no further details are currently available. Russ Brown, president of Chilliwack River Rafting Adventures, which led the expedition, said all rafters were wearing helmets and life jackets and the two rafts were helmed by certified river guides and supported by a safety kayaker. This is the first death for the company, which has operated for 25 years.

Her friend Elena Arsenault said Hemstock was a social person who loved hanging out with people. "She was just very funny, vibrant, a lot of energy and a bright spirit," said Arsenault, who met Hemstock in Victoria three years ago. "She just had the best laugh, everyone knew her for her laugh." Hemstock was very artistic and loved to paint, draw and take photographs and also took up fire spinning as a hobby, Arsenault said. Hemstock worked at Shaw Cable as a customer service representative. Terra Casey worked with her at Shaw for a year. "She was probably one of the happiest, smiliest, funnest people I've ever met," said Casey, who said the staff at the company is very tight-knit. Casey said Hemstock was on the river rafting expedition with her boyfriend, who also worked at Shaw, and two other co-workers. "She was just one of those people you meet once in a lifetime. She was always trying to be that person that brightened people's day."

Jim DeHart, executive director of the B.C. River Outfitters Association, said the Chilliwack company is a member "in good standing." In the wake of the tragedy, DeHart said river-rafting deaths in B.C. are very rare and that most B.C. river-rafting companies voluntarily follow safety guidelines beyond what is required of them at the national level. "Because of the regulations we have in place ... it's safer than riding your bicycle down the road," he said.

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