Coroner Says Kansas Rafter Died Of Drowning On Poudre River
FORT COLLINS, Colo. (CBS4)- The rafter who died on the Cache la Poudre River Thursday afternoon died of drowning and complications of heart disease. He was identified as Frank Diskin, 69, from Parsons, Kansas.
Diskin was one of four rafters who were toppled out of their raft shortly after noon on Thursday. Three others were rescued after the accident at about 12:40 p.m. near 13714 West Highway 14, west of Fort Collins.
Two of the rafters were stranded on a river island near the Mishawaka Inn. A third rafter was injured with a suspected broken leg.
The Larimer County Search and Rescue Team was called in to assist the Dive and Rescue Team to help get the stranded rafters off the island. They were eventually returned to shore by the rafting company. Those two rafters were not injured.
The rafters were wearing wetsuits and were part of a commercial rafting trip operated by Rocky Mountain Adventures of Fort Collins.
The Poudre River is running very high and fast because of record snowmelt. There is also a lot of debris in the water.
Commercial rafts and kayaks are allowed on the water, but bans are in place to keep tubers and other water floatation devices out of the river.
