According to a Friday night press release, the death of a man last seen riding an innertube on the Arkansas River near Buena Vista is under investigation.

The 41-year-old victim reportedly entered the river on the innertube near the Buena Vista South Main Recreation Area on Friday afternoon, quickly showing signs of obvious distress. He was wearing a properly fitted life jacket and full wetsuit at the time – note that Colorado’s water is very cold right now, which can result in cold water shock. A wetsuit is designed to help someone better handle cold water temperatures.

Witnesses saw the victim struggling to go through hydraulics on the river, eventually becoming unresponsive and floating downstream. A call for assistance came at about 2:40 p.m, which prompted a response from rangers, law enforcement, and medical personal. A commercial rafting company downstream of the incident was also notified.

Staff of the rafting company, located near Johnson Village – about 2.5 miles downstream from where the victim put-in, spotted the man floating down the river and tied a safety rope to an employee who entered the water, grabbing the victim and pulling him to shore.

Once on shore, emergency personnel performed CPR, but attempts to resuscitate the victim were not successful.

AHRA park manager Tom Waters noted “that this tragedy illustrates the importance of being prepared for entering challenging whitewater conditions at the peak of spring run-off from snowmelt. [Waters also] urged the public to check conditions by calling the AHRA before entering the river or to use a commercial rafting company.”

The official cause of death will be determined by the Chaffee County Coroner.

According to Colorado Parks and Wildlife, this is the 11th confirmed water death this year in Colorado, with one additional unconfirmed death and one additional presumed water death.

Condolences go out to those impacted by the death of this victim.

While a life jacket may not always prevent death, it’s the best way to do so when on Colorado’s waters. Always wear a life jacket in or around water.

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