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Here are the facts as I know them:
Saturday I and four other trip leaders were taking a school group (MTSU) down to the Ocoee for a weekend rafting trip. When we saw the river, we knew that there was no way we were going to take a group or ourselves down the river (We have
over 30 years of combined experience guiding the Ocoee). We decided that we would go over to the Hiwassee. When we were going down hwy 64 around the Doldrums area we noticed three people frantically running down the road. I looked out of the van and saw a body floating face up down the river. Imediately, my boss jumped out of the van to help. He is very trained in situations like this. The other trip leader and I sped down to the commercial takeout to alert the rangers. Soon, another one of our trip leaders joined my boss. They were following the body down the river along the banks of the river. Soon, a brave man in a kayak paddled out to the floating man and grabbed him with one arm and paddled back to shore with his blade in the other hand. He did this through class III water dragging 180+ lbs. with him. Enough cannot be said about this kayaker ( I dont know his name) who risked his life for somebody he did not know. My boss and the other trip leader carried the body from the shore to the street, where one of our trip participants administered CPR till the ambulance came. The gentleman died from drowning. He had swam from double suck, which was just one large hole, to the doldrums going through double trouble and flipper, which was a river wide hydraulic. The gentleman was a fireman who was in a boat with other fireman. The entire raft had capsized, but the rest of the people in the boat were brought to safety, although they were very beaten up.
-Here is my opinion-
Should this gentleman have been on the river? Who am I to judge. People jump in boats for different reasons. Whether he knew what he was getting himself into is a whole different story. The Ocoee is treated like an amusement ride, even though there is a list of stories of death and injuries that were avoidable associated with the river. Education is key in many situations, but education is usually pushed aside for ego. This situation is a sad situation (the gentleman was also wearing a wedding ring), and my condolensces and prayers go out to the family. I do not wish this upon any person, so therefore I will continue to educate everybody who participates in our trips (MTSU's outdoor pursuits) about how to treat nature and its elements with respect and thought before stepping into something over their head.
Josh |
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first hand account of Ocoee death (long) New 
BoaterTalk 
