JACKSON, Wyo. — Teton County Search and Rescue (TCSAR) performed a water rescue of a drift boat stranded on the Snake River on the afternoon of Sunday, Aug. 11.
The boat, carrying four people on a fishing trip between Moose Village and the Wilson Bridge, had become stuck on a root ball. A guide in a nearby vessel called in the emergency after being unable to help due to fast currents.
A private landowner gave TCSAR river access downstream of the stranded boat, which it used to launch a jet boat into the river, with a catacraft standing nearby at the ready in case it was needed.
The team of three on the jet boat pulled up alongside the stranded craft and helped three people off of it. The fourth person stayed aboard and, with the help of a TCSAR volunteer, freed the boat from the root ball. The rescue boat and the drift boat then floated to the private access, where they got off the river.
The mission was completed in 2 hours and 36 minutes, according to TCSAR.
“This incident serves as a reminder to always wear a life jacket even on flatwater stretches,” TSCAR cautioned on its Facebook page. “As river levels recede into later summer, obstacles still exist and the current will even speed up as it channelizes, creating powerful hydraulics and challenging eddylines that may surprise you.”
