FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 29, 2023
ONE DEAD IN RAFTING ACCIDENT IN COLORADO RIVER AT PYRITE RAPIDS
GRAND COUNTY, CO – On August 28, 2023 at approximately 2:27 p.m. Grand County Dispatch received a report of a male in his thirties found not conscious and not breathing in the Colorado River at Pyrite Rapids in the Gore Canyon, outside of the Town of Kremmling in unincorporated Grand County.
The Grand County Sheriff’s Office, Grand County Search and Rescue, Grand County Emergency Medical Services, and Flight For Life responded to the scene where an unresponsive 38-year-old male had been pulled out from the water after falling from his raft. Due to the extremely challenging and mountainous terrain, the Union Pacific Railroad provided much appreciated assistance accessing the site via a hi-rail truck from the Kremmling railroad yard.
The initial investigation revealed that a group of rafters had put in at the Confluence of the Blue River and the Colorado River. It was reported from other group members that a short time into the float, the 38-year-old male who was an experienced rafter, fell overboard and was in the water for an unknown amount of time before other members of his group were able to locate him. It was determined by Grand County Emergency Medical Services and the Flight For Life crew that all lifesaving interventions had been exhausted and the man was determined deceased on scene. The male was wearing a helmet and a personal flotation device.
The Coroner’s Office has made next of kin notifications. The decedent’s identity and cause and manner of death will be released by the Coroner when appropriate.
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