RIP kayaker South fork Smith 3/10/14

Getting breaking news of a kayaker found deceased on the South Fork Smith within the last hour. Details are still very sketchy. She or he went missing yesterday afternoon.

 

  RIP!

Soumds like he was on the upper south fork, probably running upper south fork gorge which is serious whitewater. Sad news.

Kayaker missing on Smith's South Fork

Written by Adam Spencer, The Triplicate    March 10, 2014 10:59 am
The Del Norte County Search and Rescue team was searching for a missing kayaker in the Upper South Fork Smith River on Monday after the male boater was separated from his kayak and the other kayaker who was with him during a trip that started Sunday, the Sheriff's Office said.
After the second kayaker watched his friend's boat float down without anyone in it, he reached a residence in Big Flat to call authorities.

The kayaker's names have not been released.

The Coast Guard and Del Norte Search and Rescue were dispatched Sunday night, but the Coast Guard helicopter did not make it inland from Crescent City since the weather prevented any visibility into the upper river's canyons.

Search and Rescue's efforts on Sunday night were also limited by the lack of road access to the remote stretches of the South Fork Smith above Big Flat.

The Coast Guard and Search and Rescue resumed the search at 6 a.m. Monday morning using a helicopter and ground crews, and it was ongoing at 11 a.m., Sheriff's Office officials said.

Praying for this person and his/her family

RIP fellow boatman

RIP fellow kayaker!