Authorities in Chaffee County continued searching Thursday for an 11-year-old Golden boy tossed into the Arkansas River on Wednesday afternoon during a commercial rafting trip.
The boy was on a raft operated by the Adventure Company when it high-sided about 11 miles north of Salida at the Big Drop Rapids, a Class 3 section. Three rafters fell into the river, and all were recovered except for the boy, who was rafting with family members.
“Emergency crews responded to the area, and a search began immediately,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release. “The search continued until nightfall, at which time the victim had yet to be recovered.”
Sheriff John Spezze said the search resumed at first light Thursday.
Several area law enforcement and fire rescue agencies are assisting, with more than 50 people engaged in the search.
The raft company remained open and continued trips Thursday.
Six years is the minimum age to participate on the run on which the accident occurred, according Adventure Company’s owners, Mark and Sarah Hammer. The Class 3 rapids are considered to be of intermediate difficulty. The trip’s guide has 10 years of experience leading whitewater rafting trips, according to Mark Hammer. All guides must have at least four years of experience as professional guides to be hired at the company, he said.
“This is as bad as it gets,” Hammer said, describing a somber mood at the company Thursday. He said this is the first such serious incident to occur at Adventure Company.
