Boy Scout leader dies in whitewater accident
By Tim Dudley, Jackson Hole, Wyo.
June 29, 2009
A Boy Scout leader who fell into the Snake River during a rafting trip died Friday.
Craig McCuistion, of Rexburg, Idaho, drowned after being sucked into a hydraulic in the Snake River Canyon, Lincoln County Coroner Michael Richins said. McCuistion was pronounced dead Friday evening at St. John’s Medical Center, Richins said. Richins said McCuistion was 48 to 51 years old.
McCuistion and other adult leaders with a group of Boy Scouts launched a raft from the West Table boat ramp to run the popular whitewater stretch of the Snake River south of Jackson.
McCuistion was thrown from the raft when it hit a rapid known as Three Oar Deal, a spokeswoman for Bridger-Teton National Forest said Friday. McCuistion, who was wearing a personal flotation device, was sucked under.
“Just the force of the whirlpool kept him under,” Richins said. “This time of year, especially, with that volume of water, those whirlpools can be pretty vicious.”
Another trip leader was thrown from the raft but was able to swim away, Richins said, and all of the Boy Scouts stayed in the raft and were unhurt. Richins said he did not know how may Scouts were on the trip.
Staff from Dave Hansen Whitewater and Mad River Boat Trips, several U.S. Forest Service river rangers and an ambulance crew from Alpine helped pull McCuistion from the water and load him on an ambulance.
Three Oar Deal is widely considered one of the most dangerous features on the river when the water volume is high.
The Bureau of Reclamation reported 17,500 to 18,000 cubic feet per second were flowing through the canyon Friday, about 4,000 cfs higher than the average for that date.
“For heaven’s sake, be careful on the river,” Richins said.
