Empty raft prompts Spokane River search

The empty orange raft floating near rapids in the Spokane River late Saturday afternoon was an ominous sign to water rescuers.

“My first thought was we had a body,” said Bob Trautmann, a member of Spokane Fire Department’s Swift Water Rescue Team.

Firefighters were called to Riverside Park near the Bowl and Pitcher about 5:50 p.m. after witnesses said they saw an empty raft floating in the river, not long after they had seen it occupied. Some witnesses said a man had been in the raft; others had seen a man and a boy. After a two-hour search with rescuers combing the banks, floating the river and looking from a helicopter, the response was called off.

Based on other witness statements, firefighters believe a man and a boy disembarked on shore and the craft accidentally floated away.

“Three people told us that they got out,” said Dale Michael, a Swift Water Rescue Team member. “They may not even know we are looking for them.”

Still, rescuers would like to know for sure. (The man who was in the raft is asked to call Spokane Fire Battalion Chief Joel Fielder at 625-7020.)

Swift Water Rescue Team members say the two-person orange raft was not suitable for floating the river. “We call it a Kmart coffin,” Trautmann said.

Trautmann said folks shouldn’t float the river near the Bowl and Pitcher unless they can rescue themselves. “Just because you can (rescue yourself) doesn’t mean you should be responsible for any minor,” he said.

And always wear a life jacket, Trautmann said. Witnesses told rescuers that although the boy was wearing one, the man wasn’t.

Saturday’s search came less than a week after a 7-year-old boy was critically injured in a canoe accident about five miles upstream from Bowl and Pitcher.

Benjamin Morin was in a canoe with his father, and another man and his 7-year-old son, when the boat hit an abutment that supports the Sandifur Memorial Bridge near People’s Park. Benjamin was submerged for about 20 minutes before rescuers pulled him out of the river. The others were thrown from the canoe and swam to safety. Benjamin remained in critical condition Saturday at Sacred Heart Medical Center.