The Trinity River near Fort Worth, Texas was running high and fast on March 24th. At 9:30 a.m. Gregg Wilson, 33, and a friend put in at Quannah Parker Park. Both were paddling Keowee-style recreational kayaks without sprayskirts, life vests, or helmets.
Articles forwarded to AW by Jeff Peters and Wiley Sullivan describe what happened next. The pair encountered a low-head dam ten minutes below the put-in. They elected to run it. The first man succeeded, and Wilson ran next. He flipped and became caught in the hydraulic. His friend got ashore and attempted to reach Wilson with a rope. Wilson recirculated for some time, then disappeared. His friend walked out to a road and flagged down a patrol car. Firefighters spent the rest of the day in an unsuccessful search for the body.
