Story updated at 4:15 p.m.
JACKSON, Wyo. — One person was killed in a Snake River accident on Wednesday, June 18, according to an announcement by Star Valley Search and Rescue.
The agency posted to social media that it was dispatched to assist a person who had tripped and fallen into the Snake near Big Kahuna and Lunch Counter. The victim was found downriver by the agency’s drone operator. Personnel from Bridger-Teton National Forest also participated in the response.
“This was truly a tragic accident and reminder just how unforgiving the river can be,” Star Valley Search and Rescue stated. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family.”
UPDATE: Star Valley News has identified the deceased as 89-year-old Joyce Balls of Rigby, Idaho.
Star Valley Search and Rescue Captain Clint Erickson told Buckrail that the victim had been out for a picnic with family members at the Big Kahuna overlook. When they got up to leave, she lost her footing and fell off of the cliff, dropping approximately 100 feet.
Someone in her party ran to the roadside to flag down help, reaching dispatch around 2:15 p.m. Search and Rescue volunteers were on the scene within 20 minutes, Erickson said. Alpine Fire/EMS and river guides on the scene helped in the search effort.
Search and Rescue volunteers used two jet skis, a jet boat and sonar to search the area before the drone operator succeeded in locating the victim.
