GRAND COUNTY, Colo. — An Aurora man died and another man is missing after a raft they were in capsized on the Colorado River on Saturday, the Grand County Sheriff's Office said.
A 911 caller reported around 3:40 p.m. Saturday that a person, later identified as 56-year-old Brent Boulter, was not breathing on the river in the area of Gore Canyon south of Kremmling.
The 911 caller said they had performed CPR on Boulter, but he was was declared dead, the sheriff's office said.
On Sunday, the sheriff's office said Thomas Russell, 61, from Littleton, was still missing. Russell was last seen wearing a blue fishing shirt and khaki shorts, the sheriff's office said.
"It'll be kind of a day-to-day effort," Sheriff Brett Schroetlin said. "Sometimes we have quick successful locates in the river, and unfortunately, sometimes they're delayed."
A third person in the group was able to get out of the river safely.
Schroetlin said no one in the raft was wearing a life jacket, which he said is vital to keeping people safe.
"The area where we specifically were focusing on where the accident happened was called the Yarmony Rapids," Schroetlin said. "The key to any of our waters is to always wear a life vest, those personal floatation devices, you know, our saving grace up here. And so we encourage people to have those on. That helps you rescue yourself. It also helps us locate you if we can't be in the right place at the right time."
Responders deployed additional rafts, ground crews, unmanned aerial systems and a Union Pacific Railroad Hi-Rail to search the river and surrounding areas for Russell.
As of Sunday afternoon, he has not been found. The sheriff's office asked anyone recreating in the Radium/Rancho Del Rio area to be vigilant and report any sightings or further information by calling or texting 911.
Water attorney James Eklund said Colorado is entering its peak runoff season as snow melts into rivers and lakes.
"More water in the river can mean more fun, more rapids to navigate," Eklund said. "It can certainly be a wonderful thing, but it can also be dangerous."
Eklund said water in the Colorado River is moving at 1,300 cubic feet per second. He said water moving that fast can create some challenges.
"When you start talking about that volume of water, you get caught in a rapid, into a compromised position, water is extremely heavy," Eklund said. "You get pulled into a hydrologic feature and it can be difficult to get out."
Schroetlin said high waters make safety all the more important to consider.
"Unfortunately, this was a tragic incident that happened," Eklund said. "But the key message of this is, we can hopefully save you if you have life vest on, or you can save yourself. So put those life vests on."
Schroetlin said this is the first water-related death in Grand County this year.
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