Three adults and two dogs rescued from swift moving Snake River
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RIRIE — After a floating trip went awry on the Snake River, the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office backcountry team successfully rescued three adults and two dogs stranded in a drift boat.
The boat high-centered on a rock bar in the middle of the swiftly flowing river between 5:30 and 6 p.m. Tuesday evening near Byington Boat Ramp.
“There’s some headgates there to the canal. … They must have gotten a spot where they couldn’t get over that diversion,” said Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt. Bryan Lovell.
The rescue team deployed quickly. A deputy on the bank communicated with the stranded party while the water rescue team arrived in a larger boat.
“The Snake River is very busy with recreators, fishermen and floaters, and it’s very, very unpredictable,” Lovell said. “The water levels change and throughout the year — even from year to year — the hazards in the water and rocks, obstacles and debris, all those things change constantly.”
Fisherman Michael Gilbert observed the rescue from the shore as the passengers offloaded over the bow of their drift boat into the waiting watercraft.
“It’s really wide at the point before it narrows, so if you’re not in the middle of that little area that comes downstream, you can get in trouble pretty quick,” he said.
The deputies also successfully retrieved the drift boat and all equipment, though the boat sunk into the water after it was pulled off the rocks.
“When they pulled it down, it swamped the boat. The boat was still upright. They went and bailed it all out,” Gilbert said.
A similar rescue took place at 9 a.m. Monday on the Snake River after multiple recreators became stranded on a gravel bar.
The county’s water rescue team typically handles a case about once a week from May into October, Lovell said.
“Not all of those are emergency rescues where people are in the water, but you know, people break down, get stuck, run into some sort of debris, or we’ve had several boats that have overturned this summer,” he said. “People got in the water, and then they got to the bank or an island and just couldn’t get off, and had to have someone come and get them.”
Gilbert thanked the rescuers for their professional performance and training.
“Water is always tricky, and the Sheriff’s Department did such a great job,” he said.