Sandy man dies in rafting accident on Colorado’s Green River

DINOSAUR, Colorado — The body of a 50-year-old man was recovered from the Green River in Dinosaur National Monument Thursday afternoon following a boating accident.

The National Park Service said that around 4 p.m., memorial staff were notified by a group that one of their members’ boats was stuck on a rock in the rapids of Hell’s Half Mile.

The group reported that the person was missing and was probably trapped under the raft.

“The group was eventually able to unlatch and secure the boat, but the individual, now helpless and unresponsive and having lost his life jacket, drifted downstream,” the NPS said in a news release.

NPS said River Patrol Rangers met with the group and began recovery efforts for the 50-year-old man.

On Friday morning, memorial staff were notified by a commercial rafting company that the man’s body had been found about 10 miles downstream from the accident site and secured by his guides.

NPS said monument staff, the company and a helicopter crew transported the man’s body to the Moffat County Morgue.

Authorities did not release the man’s name but confirmed he was from Sandy, Utah.

“Dinosaur National Monument thanks Classic, Adrift, River Runners Transport, Moffat County ACTSS (Advocates, Crisis, Trauma, and Survivor Services), and monument staff who assisted in the search and recovery efforts, and extends condolences to the family and river community affected by this incident,” the NPS said.