Accident Database

Report ID# 4047

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Accident Description

Husband/wife in canoe hit sweeper and flipped in section below where North and South branches of Root River converge.

Nearest gage on south was at 450cfs and 3' (DNR rates 'low' as 2-3') and on north was 900cfs and 9.5' (DNR rates 9.2 to 11.5' as high).

Wife pronounced dead at scene. TEXT ATTACHMENTS From http://www.kaaltv.com/news/canoeist-dies-root/4174828/

Canoeist Dies on Root River

Posted at: 06/20/2016

(ABC 6 NEWS) -- A Minneapolis women died after her canoe overturned on the Root River in Fillmore County Saturday. The Fillmore County Sheriff's Office received a call around 2:30 Saturday afternoon asking for medical help on a bike trail just east of Whalan. When first responders arrived on the scene they found 63-year-old Wendy Anderson unresponsive. CPR had already been started. Anderson was pronounced dead at the scene.

Authorities learned Anderson and her husband had been canoeing on the Root River when their canoe overturned after running into a log. Anderson's husband swam her to shore and yelled to get the attention of a bicyclist for help. The Fillmore County sheriff says water has been high on the river, and this is the third incident that's happened on the river in the same general area in the last two weeks. He says the river is moving swiftly and has produced more debris and obstacles in the water. He's asking those who go on the river to take extreme caution.

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