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Search called off for Fort Collins man missing after rafting accident on Poudre River

Another man and his 13-year-old son made it out of the water after all three fell off their raft.

LARIMER COUNTY, Colo. — The search was called off Sunday afternoon for a 57-year-old Fort Collins man who was missing after he and two others fell into the water while floating down the Poudre River on a raft Saturday afternoon, according to the Larimer County Sheriff's Office.

The group of three was floating down the river when their raft came out from under them just before 2:30 p.m. Saturday between mile markers 107 and 108 on Highway 14, the sheriff's office said.

RELATED: Coors employee rescues tuber who fell in Clear Creek Friday afternoon

Sunday morning, more than 20 personnel from Larimer County Sheriff’s Office Emergency Services, Larimer County Search and Rescue, and Larimer County Dive Rescue Team resumed searching for the man. Ground crews and a drone team searched a 12-mile stretch of the river, the sheriff's office said.

David L. Smith was last seen wearing blue jeans and no shirt.

Searchers did not enter the high and swift-flowing river as they did not find anything or have any information leading them to search a specific part of the river. The search was called off several hours later. and no further large-scale search operations are planned unless new information becomes available about the man’s location, the sheriff's office said. 

Emergency services personnel will monitor the river conditions to determine when to conduct future searches. 

A 48-year-old man and his 13-year-old son made it out of the water with minor injuries but became separated from the other man, according to the sheriff's office.

Numerous agencies responded Saturday after the incident and spent hours searching for the man from the shore because it was too dangerous to put anyone into the water to look for him, a spokesperson for the agency said.

RELATED: Tubing ban enacted due to dangerous conditions on Saint Vrain River

The 13-year-old boy was the only one wearing a life jacket. Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call Larimer County Sheriff’s Office at 970-416-1985.

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