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 Washington state incident New
- Forum: BoaterTalk
Date: Nov 11 2003, 15:51 GMT
From: viboater
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I am sorry to report the Ben Manfredi died on the Rica canyon section of the Elwha on Sunday. We were having a great day. After a great run on the Grand Canyon of the Elwha we have only two rapids left in the lower canyon. He flipped and went over a small drop upside down. I saw that he made several failed roll attempts as the river bent around the corner and out of site. I followed behind in pursuit expecting to help pick up gear from his swim. I found his kayak in the eddy right around the corner upside down. He was still in it and apparently no effort was made to pull out. We attempted CPR for most of an hour, never with any sign of life.
SAR and the National Parks people brought him and his kayak up out the gorge last night (Monday) around 6. Seeing your best paddling buddy (or anyone else for that matter) in his drysuit on a stretcher is tough.
Ben was an awesome paddler. He had the ability to go do a river once and be able to memorize the lines. It was like he was my personal Class V paddle guide. He will be sorely missed by all that knew him.
Please pray for his family and that God may continue to give them strength and peace.
John Easton |
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- my condolences... paramita New
 My prayers are with his family & friends <NT> fish69 New  Any evidence of head injury? buynoski New -
- Yes... from personal experience, a CISD is a very helpful tool during these times. <NT> rodeocreeker New
- None whatsoever. <nt> <NT> viboater New
- So sorry... funkmop New
- Ben was a great person :-) rodeocreeker New
- My thoughts are with you, Ben's family, and Ben's friends... <NT> clean.run New
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- Very sorry! My prayers go to family and friends. <NT> BluntmasterE New
- i'm so sorry. <NT> possum New
- Sad indeed, condolances to you and his friends and family <NT> swimsalot New
- Sorry to hear this, is this a daily experience in this sport? (someone dieing) ForwardBias New
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- Don't fool yourself you can die in class 3 water also swimsalot New
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- True <NT> ForwardBias New
- re: daily occurrence-- Not really but many parts of the country ... davegg New
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- It does seem to run in spells. Not sure why. <NT> rroberts New
- You are just more aware of deaths in this sport, it is actually not that unsafe. Will_Gosney New
- no, just around full moons <NT> KellyHe New
- John, my thoughts and prayers for you and his family. Take care. <NT> air8ed New
- John, keep talking with us ... bobzilla New
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 I second that. <NT> hardboater New
- Very sad... my condolences to his friends and family. It was a bad day... <NT> GRITS New
- This is sad news. Condolences to his family and friends. :( <NT> kayaksiren New
- I miss my friend.............. E-rock New
- Thoughts and prayers to friends and family. hardboater New
- Peace to you and all who know him <NT> mtnsport New
- Oh man, that's terrible. jkodadek New
- My deepest sympathy... <NT> hairyuga New
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