Accident Date: July 4, 2009
MOAB — A 17-year-old boy from Fraser, Colo., drowned Saturday after the raft he was riding in flipped in whitewater near Moab. Deputy Chief Curt Brewer of the Grand County Sheriff's Office said Timothy Rau was floating on the Colorado River when his raft flipped as he attempted to pass through Funnel Falls.
Nearby witnesses in kayaks saw the teen become submerged again in Skull Rapid and were able to support him until a second raft could begin to transport him to the nearest takeout that was more than an hour's float away. CPR was started and continued in the raft by family and friends until the group reached the Cisco takeout. Brewer said St. Mary's Air Care responded, but teams were unable to revive the teen after advanced cardiac life support. CPR had been performed for about three hours. Rau was pronounced dead at the takeout.
Beth Sans, a spokeswoman for the Rau family, said that Timothy Rau was an accomplished outdoorsman, despite a genetic disorder that confined him to a wheelchair at times. He had been dog sledding in Alaska, snowmobiling in Yellowstone and rafted in the Grand Canyon, according to a blog he maintained at timothyrau.com. "He had no fear," Sans said. "He was always trying new things, and his parents did all they could to make that happen." Rau was wearing a life vest, but strong currents kept him submerged, Brewer said. Rau's parents were experienced rafters, and Sans said his mother had more than 25 years of experience floating whitewater in the United States.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Fraser teen drowns near Moab
A Fraser teenager died Saturday after his raft overturned in a turbulent stretch of the Colorado River near Moab. According to the Grand County, Utah sheriff's office, the 17-year-old boy from Fraser was on a raft that flipped Saturday afternoon in an area called Funnel Falls. A kayaker saw the teen, who was wearing a lifejacket, get sucked under again in nearby Skull Rapid. Deputies say the boy was pulled out of the river but attempts to revive him were unsuccessful. The boy was identified in a Salt Lake Tribune article as Tim Rau.
According to the Tribune report, Rau's death was the fifth drowning fatality in the Moab area this year, a number police said is the highest in more than 20 years. It also was the second death at the same rapids in less than two months; an Ohio man drowned in the same spot Memorial Day.
The Tribune reported that Rau was on a private trip with a group of family and friends. They were traveling on three rafts between the towering red-rock walls of Westwater Canyon. He was riding with his mother, and a family friend. Rau would have been a senior next fall at Middle Park High School.
Drowning in Westwater
Teen with rare genetic disorder drowns near Moab -
Salt Lake Tribune
Despite a rare genetic disorder that confined him to a wheelchair most of the time, 17-year-old Timothy Rau learned to downhill ski on a snowbike, climbed mountains and did the Iditarod with the Make a Wish Foundation. The Fraser, Colo., teen was rafting on the Colorado River on Saturday when the craft overturned. He was sucked into the rapids and drowned.
Rau's death was the fifth drowning fatality in the Moab area this year, a number police said is the highest in more than 20 years. It also was the second death at the same rapids in less than two months; an Ohio man drowned in the same spot Memorial Day. "The river is taking its toll this year," said Grand County Chief Deputy Curt Brewer. He attributed the rise in part to the large number of people boating and swimming.
Rau was on a private trip with a group of family and friends, Brewer said. They were traveling on three rafts between the towering red-rock walls of Westwater Canyon. He was riding with his mother , who Brewer said has about 25 years of rafting experience, and a family friend. They hit the class-3 Funnel Falls rapids about 1 p.m. Something went wrong and the raft overturned, dumping all three into the Colorado . Rau dropped out of sight in the churning water. He was wearing a life jacket, but his illness limited his mobility, Brewer said.
A nearby kayaker saw him get sucked under by a second class-3 rapids, Skull Rapid. He stayed under for about 15 minutes, until two kayakers just beyond the rapids pulled him out of the water and onto another of the rafts. Someone started CPR and the group paddled out of the remote canyon to the Cisco takeout, about an hour away, and called for help, Brewer said.
When paramedics arrived, they couldn't revive him. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Grand County Sheriff Jim Nyland said that the group was well-prepared and experienced. "It's just an unfortunate situation," he said.
In a December interview for the Denver Children's Hospital newsletter, Timothy said his physical activities helped him overcome ataxia-telangiectasia, the degenerative disease that took his balance and muscle control: "My success stemmed from keeping active," he was quoted in the newsletter. Rau was a junior at Middle Park High School in Granby, Colo., according to his blog, timothyrau.com.
lwhitehurst@sltrib.com I just joined this group in hopes of learning more about this incident. We were near the take out, jumping cliffs near the present cave, when Timothy Rau (Fasier CO) arrived in a motorized boat with his mother, a kayaker, the boat captain and someone who seemed to work in the health induatry (nurse?) past us on the way to the take out. We could tell there was trouble as we saw the kayakers head bobbing up and down as he performed CPR.
One member of our group scrambled to above the star rock at the take out and was able to call 911. Tim was loaded into the back of a pick up while this call took place. Sherrif, Helicopter, and ambulance arrived in that order. Meanwhile members of our group provided CPR relief, and did what ever else we could to help. About an hour after medical help arrived, after AED, and drugs were administered. Tim was pronounced dead. Tim, we are told, had genetic condition that limited his mobility. Apparently he had quite an adventurous life despite his condition.
http://www.gjsentinel.com/search/content/gen/ap/UT_Teen_Drowns.html http://www.nbc11news.com/11today/headlines/50014627.html the most info http://www.skyhidailynews.com/article/20090705/NEWS/907059989/1079&ParentProfile=1067 http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_12759027
