A group of experienced local kayakers helped rescue a rafter on the Shoshone River west of Cody on Sunday afternoon who was trapped in a cave after the raft the subject and two others were in flipped in the rapids near Hayden Arch Bridge.

At 3:33 p.m. Sunday, the Park County Sheriff’s Office Communications Division received a 911 call from a caller who had been rafting in the Shoshone Canyon, according to a press release. The party of three had recently purchased a raft from a local store that afternoon and, office spokesman Monte McClain said, decided to raft the section of whitewater below Hayden Arch Bridge which is currently flowing at 4,500 cubic feet per second (cfs).

At some point during the ensuing float, the raft was flipped over in the rapids. Two of the subjects were able to get to the shore on the south side of the river while a third subject became unaccounted for. The third subject went through the rapid named “Iron Curtain” and was able to swim to a small cave on the north side of the river.  

Park County Search and Rescue (PCSAR), along with Park County Sheriff deputies and Cody Regional Health EMS personnel, were dispatched to the scene. PCSAR members gained access to the subject via the road on the north side of the canyon and immediately deployed two swift water rescue members to contact the subject. At this same point in the rescue, there was a group of four highly experienced local kayakers making a portage around the Iron Curtain rapid which is not safely runnable at these water flows, McClain said.

Kevin Kennedy, Travis Lehman, James Larson and Dante Biancucci immediately came to the aid of PCSAR and the stranded subject. They were able to assist with getting him into a personal flotation device or PFD, dry clothes and a harness on him to secure the subject. Once the subject was safely secured to a rope system,  PCSAR rope team members raised him approximately 150 feet to the road where he was turned over to EMS  staff. The male subject was suffering from hypothermia and assessed by Cody Regional Health EMS. He subsequently refused transport to the hospital for further evaluation.  

The Park County Sheriff’s Office reminds residents and visitors alike to be aware of the dangers  present in the area and to reach out to a knowledgeable resource for conducting safe outdoor activities.