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 Klickitat River, here's what came out on AP New
- Forum: BoaterTalk
Re: Rafters drowned in Wash state according to USA today, anyone got details? <NT> Bradley New
Date: May 22 2006, 6:40 GMT
From: okeefe
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Jeff was owner of All Adventures Rafting based on the White Salmon.
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Two rafters die in Klickitat River mishap
05:10 PM PDT on Sunday, May 21, 2006
Associated Press
GLENWOOD, Wash. -- The Coast Guard Sunday found the body of a second rafter who was thrown overboard in an accident that killed two along a remote section of the Klickitat River.
A second rafter was found dead Saturday afternoon after three rafts capsized, spilling 18 people into the river, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Darin McCracken.
Sixteen people were rescued, including a third rafter hoisted up from dry land by a Coast Guard helicopter, he said.
Klickitat County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Pam Maurer said a log jam caused the rafts to capsize east of the small town on the southeast corner of Mount Adams.
The first call to the sheriff's office of the capsizings came in at 4:30 p.m. Saturday.
Maurer said the river is running really high and fast right now.
Maurer said the river is a popular place for rafting, but because of recent warm and rainy weather, it's also been the site of several accidents this year.
Details of the accident were still sketchy Saturday night because the area has no cellular phone coverage and limited radio contact.
Maurer did not know if the people on the rafting trip were adults or children, men or women.
The rescue operation in the rugged area 74 miles northeast of Portland, Ore., involved numerous agencies from both Washington and Oregon.
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Associated Press
Update 1: 2 Dead After 4 Rafts Capsize in Wash.
05.21.2006, 11:11 PM
Working through the night, searchers recovered two bodies from the Klickitat River in south-central Washington after four rafts capsized, authorities said Sunday.
A Coast Guard helicopter spotted the body of Jeff Driver, 50, of White Salmon, around 11 p.m. Saturday while searching the river with lights.
The second body was found Sunday and tentatively identified by the Klickitat County Sheriff's Office as Rollin Schimmel, 61, of Pendleton, Ore.
Seventeen other rafters made it to shore, two with injuries, shortly after the Saturday afternoon incident, which authorities said may have been caused by a log jam in the river. The river's water level was high and its current fast-moving when the rafts capsized, said Pam Maurer, spokeswoman for the sheriff's office.
Several agencies from both Washington and Oregon went to the remote section of the river where the accidents happened, about 70 miles northeast of Portland, Ore.
The Klickitat River is a popular place for rafting, but because of recent warm and rainy weather, it has been the site of several accidents this year, she said.
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