Tourist dies after vanishing in river as friends chase after him, Wyoming rescuers say

An out-of-state visitor died Tuesday, June 21, after plunging into the Gros Ventre River in a rafting accident, Wyoming rescuers reported.

The man was in a two-person cataraft launched on a whitewater stretch below Lower Slide Lake when it flipped near a rapid known as Hermit, Teton County Search and Rescue said in a news release.

The two people aboard fell into the river, but one managed to climb back aboard, rescuers said. The other was swept away in the rapids as his friends gave chase along the shore.

Rescuers called to the scene just before 6 p.m. searched for the man on foot and in rafts, the release said. Searchers also used a drone and a Grand Teton National Park helicopter.

Onlookers spotted the man near a boulder at the boundary of the national park, and a searcher saw him floating downriver, the release said.

The helicopter followed the man about a mile downriver until he became stuck on a log jam, the release said. Rescuers retrieved him but he died.

The man’s party was visiting Wyoming from out of state, rescuers said. They were experienced and well-equipped for the “demanding” Class IV rapids on the river.

“Sharp, angular rocks” in the river make swimming extremely hazardous, rescuers said.

This story was originally published June 22, 2022 at 3:31 PM with the headline "Tourist dies after vanishing in river as friends chase after him, Wyoming rescuers say."