A kayaker drowned in South Boulder Creek between Gross Reservoir and Eldorado Springs on Thursday night, said Dave Booton, an emergency services supervisor for the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office.
The identity of the victim, described as a man in his early 30s, wasn’t immediately released.
Booton said the man was with a party of four kayakers attempting to shoot some rapids in Walker Ranch Park a little after 7 p.m. Two of them stood by with safety ropes while the others attempted to make it through the whitewater, he said.
One of them got through, but the second got hung up, and he attempted to swim to shore. He was sucked under by the current and was trapped under rocks for about 18 minutes, Booton said. Other kayakers pulled him out, and he was airlifted to Boulder Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.