Log In


Reset Password
News Education Local News Nation & World New Mexico

Helicopter used in search of Animas

20-year-old was swept away by current Thursday night
Crews with La Plata County Search and Rescue and the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office are looking for a young man who was swept away on the upper Animas River on Thursday. Because the Upper Animas is only 20 to 24 feet wide in some areas, crews searched for the man by helicopter Friday.

The search continued Friday for a 20-year-old man who went missing Thursday evening in the Animas River north of Tacoma.

Crews in the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad helicopter searched along the river from Tank Creek to the Trimble bridge Friday morning, said Butch Knowlton, director of the La Plata County Office of Emergency Management.

Friday afternoon, the crews with La Plata County Search and Rescue and the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office gathered to organize a land search to identify areas where they could look for the young man along the banks, he said. Crews planned to work until dark Friday.

The efforts were focused on the air searches because of the steep terrain along the Upper Animas.

“They are focusing their efforts on the extremely narrow, steep canyon areas where the river passes through,” he said.

The man was walking along the river when he took his shirt off and jumped in Thursday evening near Tank Creek, according to a statement.

His companions ran alongside him as long as they could, Knowlton said. He was not wearing a personal flotation device.

They were unable to help because of the swift currents. The two talked with staff members at Soaring Tree Top Adventures at Tall Timber Resort. Several people there joined the effort to try to save the young man. Resort staff members at a bridge reported seeing the individual floating face-down and unresponsive. They were unable to retrieve him.

At this point, the search turned into a body recovery.

Authorities have not released the man’s name because they have not notified his family.

Narrowing down the search area is difficult because of the nature of the river.

“It’s almost impossible to predict the movement of the water and how the water carries down through that river gorge,” Knowlton said. “We’re just looking at a long reach.”

Knowlton asked property owners, irrigators and boaters along the Animas to keep an eye out for the man’s body.

River levels have been up across Colorado this month. On Friday in Durango, the Animas was running at 3,360 cubic feet per second. The median runoff for the date is about 2,500 cfs.

mshinn@durangoherald.com



Reader Comments