A 66-year-old man who drowned in the Yampa River when his kayak hit a rock and flipped has been identified. Michael Brinks of Craig was on a two-person private trip using an inflatable kayak Saturday in Dinosaur National Monument when the accident happened, according to a news release from the monument.
The crash happened about 2 p.m. in the Tepee Rapid. Brinks, who was reported to be wearing a personal flotation device, didn’t resurface.
After the craft the second kayaker paddled 24 miles downriver to Hells Canyon Ranch to report the incident.
Brinks’ body was found Sunday morning, spotted by helicopter, about 3 miles downstream from where the kayak ran into trouble, in a remote section of the Yampa.
An investigation, which includes the Moffat County Sheriff’s Department, is ongoing.
