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Home > News > Crews continue search for 31-year-old Boise man who fell out of canoe on the Snake River

Crews continue search for 31-year-old Boise man who fell out of canoe on the Snake River

Deputies with the Canyon and Owyhee county sheriff’s offices will continue to search Monday for a 31-year-old Boise man who fell out of his canoe on the Snake River near Celebration Park over the weekend.

A 31-year-old woman who was in the canoe when it tipped over was able to swim to shore.

Ada County Sheriff’s deputies began their search after getting a 911 call at 3:39 p.m. Saturday.

Investigators later determined the couple had put their canoe in the Snake River near the Swan Falls Dam and were about 1.5 miles from Celebration Park when they hit some water turbulence and the canoe tipped over.

Neither the man or woman were wearing their life jackets at the time, but they had them in the canoe. The woman was able to grab one of them and use it to keep her above water as she swam to shore.

Witnesses say the man held on to the canoe for a while before attempting to swim to shore.

The surface temperature of the swift-moving water at the time was 53 degrees and appears to be dozens of feet deep where the canoe tipped over.

Witnesses called 911. Paramedics arrived and treated the woman at the scene for hypothermia.

A group of Ada, Canyon, and Owhyee county sheriff’s deputies began searching the area using sonar detection equipment in boats, while pilots of an air ambulance helicopter did an aerial search of the river and riverbanks.

They suspended the search when the sun went down Saturday night and resumed again Sunday morning, but were not able to find the man.

Canyon and Owyhee county sheriff’s deputies routinely patrol the Snake River in that area and will continue to use sonar to try to locate the man.

Volunteers with Ada County’s Trauma Intervention Program (TIPS) are providing support to the woman and family members.