SWAN VALLEY, Ida — Bonneville County Sheriff’s Deputies and Idaho Falls Fire responded to a 911 call to dispatch of a reported overturned boat on the South Fork of the Snake River near the Conant Access in Swan Valley yesterday afternoon.
Dispatch received the call around 4:30 p.m. that a drift boat was upside down in the water and they could see two people floating near it. The reporting party attempted to throw a rope to them but a swift current prevented the victims from reaching it.
Deputies arrived with a boat and quickly reached the two just downstream from Spring Creek. The third occupant of the boat had not been seen since the boat had capsized, however, deputies were able to locate the third victim upstream approximately a half mile where he had been able to get out of the water on his own.
All three victims were transported to Idaho Falls Fire Personnel, via ambulance from the Conant Boat Ramp. No injuries were suffered other than potential onset hypothermia. The victims, all three adults from Utah, told Deputies they hit a bridge abutment sideways with the drift boat causing it to capsize. None of the victims were wearing life jackets.
According to the USGS (U.S. Geological Survey)The South Fork has experienced a moderate increase in flows in the past week, with its most recent instantaneous value at 12600 cfs.
Officials remind boaters and those recreating on our waterways to always wear your life jackets and plan for safety at all times. Even with extremely hot weather, water temperatures are still cold enough for the effects of hypothermia to affect your ability to self-rescue from the water.
