RedactedNarrative: On march 25th, 2021 at approximately 1230 pm i (senior officer) was notified by the mitchell county emergency management of a boating incident resulting in a fatality. The incident took place in poplar nc, along the nolichucky river. Once i was aware of the incident, i notified raleigh dispatch of the situation and advised the dispatcher that i was en-route to the poplar boating access area located in mitchell county. 
  
  I arrived on scene at approximately 1330. Upon my arrival mitchell county emergency management along with bradshaw fire and rescue personnel were in the process of retrieving the victim from a section of the river called the “quarter mile rapid”. 
  
  Once the victim was transported back to the poplar access area he was identified. After speaking with two witnesses about the incident, they informed me that victim had flipped his kayak while navigating the quarter mile rapid section of the nolichucky river. 
  
  Witnesses stated that victim tried to upright his kayak several times. Once the attempts to upright his kayak failed, victim decided to detach himself from the kayak and swim to shore. Once out of the kayak victim was caught in the recirculating current and was unable to swim to the nearest shore. 
  
  Witnesses stated that victim tried numerous times to free himself from the recirculating current that he was caught in. After several unsuccessful attempts victim succumbed to the force of the rapids resulting in his death. Both witnesses stated that once they retrieved victim from the water, they, along with another member of the group, immediately began to performed cpr. They stated that they performed cpr for approximately one hour before emergency personnel arrive on scene.  
  
  Victim was pronounced dead by mitchell county emergency management personnel at approximately 1420. He was then transported by ems to a local funeral home where the mitchell county medical examiner completed their investigation.
  