Five Rescued in Rafting Mishap | Big Horn Basin Media

Five Rescued in Rafting Mishap

Written by on July 3, 2018

It could be that someone underestimated the power of the Shoshone River.
Park County Search and Rescue were called out on Sunday afternoon to the report of a small inflatable raft that had flipped on the Shoshone River near the base of the Buffalo Bill Dam, leaving four people missing. Lance Mathess, spokesperson for the Park County Sheriff’s Department, says that five people put into the river on the raft, but the turbulent water almost immediately threw them into the river, causing them to be separated.
Mathess says that ground teams and water rescue personnel dispersed to rescue the victims, who had all made it to shore, but due to the steep rocky terrain, none of the victims were able to climb out of the canyon from their positions.

Mathess says that the first person ejected from the raft was the one who called in to dispatch – he was 27 year old Texas resident Victor Rosenblatt. The other four victims were 29 year old Zack Coker, also of Texas, and 25 year old Aine Ford from Colorado. The other two victims were 30 year old Kayl Mitchell and 29 year old Scott Kitchen, both from Cody.
Mathess says that the victims felt lucky to have survived the mishap.

All victims were wearing life jackets. They were treated for minor cuts and scrapes at the scene by medical personnel from Cody Regional Health.
Sheriff Scott Steward once again warned residents and visitors that the Shoshone River is very high and swift at this time due to the unusually high snow run-off, and urged people to keep safety as their top priority – adding if there’s any doubt, stay out of the river.


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