Dinosaur, Colorado – Search and rescue staff from the National Park Service, Moffat County Sheriff's Office and a commercial outfitter are responding to a report of a missing rafter at Disaster Falls on the Green River in Dinosaur National Monument.
At approximately 5:00 pm on Friday, June 24, 2016, a raft guided by one of the commercial companies operating in the monument flipped at Disaster Falls on the Green River in the Canyon of Lodore. All occupants made it to the shore except for a female occupant of the raft. The raft is currently pinned to a rock in the river due to the force of the current. The trip leader notified the monument about the incident by satellite phone.
Classic Lifeguard Air Ambulance was dispatched to conduct air reconnaissance along the river corridor until darkness prevented further efforts. The search and rescue team was mobilized at Gates of Lodore in preparation to launch Saturday morning.
Disaster Falls, which has a class III-IV rating depending on river levels according to the International Scale of River Difficulty, is located in a remote section of the Canyon of Lodore, approximately 7 miles from the river launch at the Gates of Lodore. The Green River was flowing at approximately 8,600 cubic feet per second at the time of the incident.
Disaster Falls was named by Major John Wesley Powell after the wreck of one of his wooden boats at the site on June 9, 1869. The Powell expedition continued their trip by boat down the rest of the Green River to its confluence with Colorado River and on through the Grand Canyon.
The name of the missing person is being withheld until the family has been notified. Additional information will be provided as it becomes available.