One dead in North Fork boating accident
Photos by CHANSE WATSON/ Emergency personnel with the Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office and Prichard/Murray Volunteer Fire Department work together to haul out the fishing boat from the North Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River on Thursday.
The felled tree, located roughly half a mile upstream from where the body was recovered, that blocked the fishermen’s way and caused their boat to capsize. The two fishermen attempted to pass through the small opening on the lower-left side.
Bite marks on the broken end of the tree show that beavers were responsible for felling the tree across the river.
KINGSTON — An elderly Silver Valley man drowned Thursday afternoon after his boat capsized during a fishing trip.
Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Jeff Lee told the Shoshone News-Press on scene that around 3:15 p.m., two fisherman and a dog were boating down the North Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River when they encountered a felled tree near mile marker 16.6 that was blocking their whole path forward.
With no motor on their small metal fishing boat and the current speeding up (as they entered a more narrow part of the river), the fishermen decided they would try to pass under the tree through a small opening near the south bank where the tree originally stood.
With oars, the two attempted to guide the boat as best they could toward the opening and then laid down flat. Whether it was a miscalculation on their part or the strength of the current, the boat shifted too far to the north and struck the tree.
The boat immediately capsized, sending the two men and the dog into the water. The surviving male was knocked toward the north bank of the river and was initially pushed under a partially submerged tree. He eventually was able to crawl from under it and pull himself onto the north bank.
The other fisherman was carried away with the current in the middle of the river. The survivor stated that he briefly saw his friend attempt to grab onto floating items, such as a red cooler, to stay above the water, but lost track of him quickly.
The dog was OK and safely swam to shore.
Around 5 p.m., SCSO dispatch received a call from individuals fishing from the shoreline near mile marker 16.1 saying they saw a capsized boat and a human body floating near their location on the river. These individuals ended up pulling the man from the water hoping to help him, but he was already deceased.
The survivor, who had walked west on the north bank hoping to locate his friend, and emergency crews arrived at the scene a short time later. Personnel with SCSO and Prichard/Murray Volunteer Fire Department checked the body and helped recover the boat.
Upon a closer inspection of the original crash site, bite marks on the base of the tree that blocked the boat’s path downstream showed that it was felled semi-recently by beavers.
SCSO is in the process of contacting the proper agency to remove the hazardous obstacle from the waterway.
While there were life jackets on the boat, the fishermen were not wearing them at the time of the crash. They were instead tied down to the boat.
As of press time, the name of the deceased had not been release by SCSO, pending next of kin notification.
