Rafter Dies After Falling Into Poudre River Near Mishawaka In Larimer County

LARIMER COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) -- A man died after the raft he was on overturned on the Poudre River near Mishawaka Tuesday, Larimer County Sheriff's Office confirmed Wednesday afternoon.

According to the sheriff's office press release, it was around 3 p.m. its communications team received the report of the private raft overturned on Poudre River just east of Mishawaka, and one of the rafters was missing. An SOS activation had also been received in the area by the International Emergency Response Coordination Center.

Eventually, first responders pulled the victim from the river while they were on scene. A witness, a Colorado Parks and Wildlife officer and three deputies performed CPR while waiting for medical responders.

First responders had to take the victim in a CPW vehicle to meet a medical helicopter at Hewlett Gulch trailhead to take him to the hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

The sheriff's office says the rafters were experienced and had proper equipment, including the SOS device that successfully sent out its emergency alert.

This was the second emergency call of the day involving rafters on the Poudre River, which was also in the same area of this response.

According to LCSO, "The Sheriff's Office wants everyone to safely enjoy the rivers and encourages anyone to call for help when needed. The water is running high and is cold. With that in mind, we encourage river recreators to take a few steps to help emergency responders. Proper gear is essential, including properly fitting life jackets. Permanently write or engrave your name and phone number on all your gear. This includes kayaks, paddles, inner tubes, and life jackets."

"If you lose your gear and are unable to retrieve it safely, please call the Sheriff's Office non-emergency phone number (970) 416-1985 with a good description of the lost items and last known location. Doing so will help emergency response personnel when we receive calls from concerned citizens regarding items seen floating on the rivers. If responders can call the phone number found on the gear and determine no one is missing or hurt, it will prevent a much larger response and search effort which often this involves sending emergency response vehicles up the canyon and rescuers into the water, both of which can be very dangerous."