Hopes fading for missing river canoeist

Even a whitewater expert with the right gear and wearing a life jacket would have been risking his life by going into the Spokane River where an ill-equipped 18-year-old went missing this weekend.

“The Devil’s Toenail is not forgiving at all, and a canoe stands no chance,” said Paul Delaney, Northwest Whitewater Association president. “That stretch of water is treacherous.”

A friend told police that Kieran E. Norman launched his canoe Friday night into the Spokane River upstream from the Bowl and Pitcher in Riverside State Park. When Norman’s father found the overturned canoe about a half-mile downriver Saturday, he called police.

The river was running 11,000 cubic feet per second and registered about 35 degrees. The air temperature was in the mid-40s, and Norman was using a small canoe designed for lakes. He wasn’t wearing a life jacket.

“His chances for survival were slim to none,” said Delaney, who rafts that stretch of river under better conditions.

Norman occasionally ventured out in canoes or boats, but he wasn’t considered an expert, said his mother, Dawn Norman.

Sheriff’s deputies looked for Norman during the weekend but have suspended the search.

According to court records, Norman was scheduled to go to trial May 12 on a charge of second-degree rape. He is accused of raping an underage girl on Aug. 6, according to a Superior Court statement of facts.