YOUR AD HERE »

1 dead in weekend rafting accident near Dinosaur National Monument

Clay Thorp
Craig Press
Triplet Falls on the Green River in the Dinosaur National Monument.
National Park Service / Courtesy photo

CRAIG — A body was recovered Saturday afternoon from the scene of a rafting accident in Triplet Falls on the Green River in Dinosaur National Monument.

Monument staff received notification via satellite text message at 12:40 p.m. Saturday that a boat flipped in the Green River at Triplet Falls, resulting in an unconscious and injured 47-year-old male, who was part of a commercial rafting trip that included family and friends.

“The rafter was underwater for about 10 minutes. CPR was performed for approximately 90 minutes,” a news release from the National Park Service stated. “Classic Air Medical arrived on the scene to assess the rafter, found him unresponsive and declared him deceased.”



The man was later transported by helicopter to the Ashley Regional Medical Center in Vernal, Utah.

“National Park Service staff, Colorado Parks and Wildlife and Moffat County Sheriff’s Office were in the process of launching a rescue effort by raft from the Gates of Lodore when Classic Air Medical arrived at Triplet Falls and found the rafter deceased,” the release stated.



The identity of the rafter has not yet been released.

Triplet Falls has a Class III difficulty rating and is located along the Green River in a remote portion of Dinosaur National Monument about 12 river miles from the monument’s northern boundary near Gates of Lodore.

“The area is surrounded by steep canyon walls rising 1,200 feet and higher above the river,” the release stated. “There is no cell service in that portion of the monument.”

River flow was approximately 2,350 cubic feet per second at the time of the incident.


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

As a Summit Daily News reader, you make our work possible.

Summit Daily is embarking on a multiyear project to digitize its archives going back to 1989 and make them available to the public in partnership with the Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection. The full project is expected to cost about $165,000. All donations made in 2023 will go directly toward this project.

Every contribution, no matter the size, will make a difference.