On June 8, 2013 operator and occupant put a 12 foot aluminum jon boat that they had borrowed from Operator1's father onto the Verdigris River near a low head dam to check limb lines up river from the dam.  As the two entered the water on the vessel, the engine died and the current from the flooded Verdigris River caused the vessel to head over the low head dam. Operator1 jumped out of the vessel before it went over the dam and Passenger stayed in the vessel as it went over. The vessel immediately began to sink in the boil of the dam as it went over. Passenger was able to jump out of the vessel clear of the the dam''s boil and swim to the river bank. Operator1 went over the dam and got trapped in the under tow of the low head dam''s boil. Passenger was able to go to a farm house and call 911. Natural Resource Officer (NRO) arrived at the scene to find Operator1 struggling to swim in the dam''s boil. NRO commandeered an angler''s vessel that was up river from the dam. The vessel was put back on the river below the dam and NRO and the angler went out on the river below Operator1. When the vessel was within 15 feet of Operator1, NRO threw a rescue line to him. Operator1 caught the rope and NRO pulled him out of the boil to a point where it was safe for NRO to enter the water and pull Operator1 to the safety of the river bank. The vessel that Operator1 was in sank to the bottom of the river and at that time was unable to be recovered. Operator1 was taken to Mercy Hospital in Independence due to exhaustion from swimming in the current of the boil for approximately 45 minutes.
Independence