Law-enforcement agencies and the Colorado Army National Guard are searching the Colorado River near Silt after two people spotted a man struggling in the water and crying out for help, officials said this afternoon.
Two people spotted the man in the Colorado River at 9:24 a.m. near the water-treatment plant in Silt and immediately called authorities, said Tanny McGinnis, spokeswoman for the Garfield County Sheriff’s Department.
“They got a visual and heard cries for help,” she said.
McGinnis said that the Colorado River, swollen by melting snow, is extremely dangerous with “high, high water.”
The river was being searched by fire and police from Silt and Rifle, as well as Garfield County sheriff’s deputies.
McGinnis said that authorities have not received any missing persons’ reports.
At midafternoon, the Colorado Army National Guard joined the search, flying one of its OH-58 Kiowa helicopters from the Guard’s High Altitude Army Aviation Training Site in Gypsum.
The Guard said it has received reports that the Colorado is “running exceptionally high and fast,” and the incident commander believes the individual could be clinging to debris in the river.
The primary role of the high-altitude center is to train helicopter pilots from various military branches how to fly in high-altitude conditions, but the facility also assists with search-and-rescue missions if needed.
McGinnis said that this afternoon, the Colorado River was nearing the high-water marks of last year’s spring runoff.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
