GRAND COUNTY, CO : Colorado man dies in rafting accident another man missing on Saturday, 1st June 2024

A Colorado man is dead and another man is still missing after a rafting accident Saturday afternoon in Grand County.

The Grand County Sheriff’s office said the accident happened on the Colorado River in the Yarmony Rapids area of the Colorado River, southwest of Kremmling.

A 911 call came in at about 3:40 p.m. on Saturday reporting a man not breathing on the Colorado River, according to the sheriff’s office. Once on scene, first responders said they learned there had been a rafting accident, and a bystander was performing CPR.

The 56-year-old man, identified by the Grand County Sheriff’s Office as Brent Boulter from Aurora, was pronounced dead later by EMS personnel.

The Grand County Sheriff’s Office said they learned another man identified as Thomas Russel, 61, was still missing after the raft capsized. Emergency responders utilized additional rafts, ground crews, unmanned aerial systems and a Union Pacific Railroad Hi-Rail to search the river and surrounding area for the 61-year-old man, but were unable to locate him.

Russel was last seen wearing khaki shorts and a blue fishing shirt, and he was not reported to be wearing a personal floatation device.

A third person from the group got to shore safely and was accounted for, according to officials.

Rescue crews in Grand County have used multiple different methods in their search for Russell along the Colorado River.

“We launched several rafts down the river, we used some drones from the air and then some ground troops, as well as a high rail from the railroad,” Grand County Sheriff Brett Schroetlin said.


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