Does anyone know anything about the drowning on the Tuolumne yesterday???

The information I have is second hand, but evidently a private kayaker drowned yesterday after being pinned on the downstream side of Dinosaur Rock. If this information is accurate, then this is the second time in the last couple of years that a kayaker has drowned after being pinned on the downstream side of Dinosaur Rock. Search and Rescue reportedly went in today to recover the body. Condolences to the victim's family and friends.

Four of us put on the lower Clavey yesterday at 9:45am. Brothers Brent and Ryan Bradley from Bellingham, WA, Jeff Robinson from North Bend, WA and Ron Blanchette Portland, OR.

Estimated flow on the Clavey was 700cfs and Tuolomne was reported as about 10K. Both Brent and Ryan had done the run with another group the day before at similar water levels.

We reached the confluence at 4:45pm. While Ryan, Jeff & I took a sneak along the right side of Clavey Falls, Brent opted to run the inside of the main flow (as he and 3 others had done uneventfully the day before). Ryan was in the lead followed by me and then Jeff. Jeff & I last saw Brent as he cut the inside corner of the lead in wave train. Ryan last saw a glimpse of Brent just above the right side of the main hole in the center of the river. Almost immediately he saw Brents paddle come out. As Jeff & I caught up to him at an eddy on river right, he had the paddle and told us he never saw Brent exit the hole. We spotted a helmet liner at this time also.

Given the water level, Jeff & I decided to go down stream assuming Brent may have flushed downstream in the fast current. Ryan remained at the hole throwing his rope into it several times before heading down stream to find us. Jeff & I went about a half mile a then pulled out being sure that there was nothing that could have floated in front of us. Shortly after getting out we spotted and recovered Brents life vest which was fully buckled. In about 30 minutes Ryan joined us and we decided to wait and watch. While doing so we also spotted an elbow pad and water bottle. After 90 minutes we decided to complete the run to Wards Ferry bridge. We contacted the local authorities in Tuolomne at 7:15pm.

We are curently in Sonora awaiting Ryan & Brents parents and working with local search and rescue. During a fly over this morning Brents boat was spotted on a rock a short way down stream from the accident site. No other details are currently available. We are assuming Brent pinned on a rock on the down stream side of hole known as Dinosaur rock which has pinned a kayak in the past.
-Ron

Ron,
Very sorry to hear about your friend.
I am a reporter with The Union Democrat in Sonora and I'm writing a story
following up on the possible drowning.
Please call me at 588-4527 or cell 770-3354.

Amy Lindblom, reporter

Ron, Jeff, and Ryan,
I have met both Ron and Jeff through Paul Heffernan. This is very sad news and I would like to express my condolances to you all on the loss your friend/brother.

Shawn Graham

I had the best day of my life with about 7 weeks ago. It started with a few hours of spring turns up at Mt baker, then a beautiful run on the upper Nooksacks' horseshoe bend, followed up by 32 holes of disk golf in Glacier and topped off with pizza and beers at the beer shrine. I am very lucky to have spent this and many other days like it with the one and only Brent Bradley.

Love ya Brother
See ya soon enough
Benson[/b]

actually i thought he was gonna die on the first drop of gol gol river in chile as he fell into a cave behind a waterfall. after minutes of search we realized what was going on. finally he rescued himself by tieing his rope to his kayak and pushing it out into the main current. as the kayak got flushed out, its power pulled him - hanging on the rope- out of the cave.

i am very sorry , brent, that your self-rescue didn´t work this time. i was so sure about it.

i´ll miss you and will always remember the wonderful time we had in the months in chile. living live. loving it. every day. every second. every breah.

together with you we still are: PURA VIDA



simon from germany.

Here's a brief report from Sonora's Union Democrat newspaper.

Whitewater kayaker presumed drowned

Published: June 20, 2005

By AMY LINDBLOM

The search for a Washington man believed to have drowned Thursday in the Clavey River ended yesterday without finding him.

Tuolumne County Sheriff's Department Search and Rescue workers found the man's life vest, his paddle and a broken half of his kayak downstream.

Officials have refused to identify the man, whose body is believed to be stuck under a rock.

People identifying themselves as friends of the kayaker said he was an experienced paddler and was wearing a helmet when he went into an area called Dinosaur Rock, where the Clavey and Tuolumne rivers converge.

A computer message board for whitewater kayakers and rafters said the man was from Bellingham, Wash., and that he had successfully gone through the area three times on Wednesday, a day before the accident.

The posts to the message board also said he was kayaking with his brother who threw a lifeline into the eddy trying to save him.

Friday, a rescue team flew over the Clavey River and spotted half of a broken red kayak about a half-mile downstream from the accident site.

Saturday and yesterday, helicopter crews flew over the river looking for any more signs of the man but found nothing.

Both the Clavey and the Tuolumne rivers are running very high due to heavy snow melt.

If the man is not found, it could be a while before the river flow slows and the level drops enough to send divers down to search the area around Dinosaur Rock, Sheriff's Sgt. Robin Hunt said.

With all due respect for Ms Lindblom, most of her facts are incorrect.

*Local SAR has one more flight planned for tomorrow afternoon. At that time active searching will be suspended pending further information.

*Local SAR spotted half of Brents kayak during Saturday's fly-over approximately 3 miles downstream. We picked it up from a raft trip at Wards Ferry bridge that afternoon. Brents paddle and vest were recovered by us shortly after the accident and were paddled out with us last Thursday.

*The trip was Brents second time down. The first was with another group the day before where 3 of the paddlers ran the same hole without incident.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Since our last post we have continued to try and find Brent as well as get a bettter understanding of what happenned. On Saturday we recovered the front 2/3's of Brents boat. That combined with pictures from the SAR flights reveal that he indeed pinned on Dinosaur rock.

On Sunday a group of 5 of us hiked our boats into the Tuolomne at the Clavey confluence to search the river. The river was significantly lower (est 4K cfs) than last week. We recovered the remainder of Brents boat as well as most of the rest of his gear and clothing. We now feel certain he is no longer at the pin spot.

This afternoon 5 of us flew a SAR chopper into the valley for an hour and a half looking for Brent. This was funded privately by the Bradley family with permission from the Forest service to access the canyon. Unfortunately we saw no sign of Brent.

After tomorrows flight both family and friends plan on heading back home. It is hoped that with the amount of river traffic and lower water levels later in the year that Brent may be found. If so please contact the Tuolomne Sheriff's Department ASAP. Local rafting companies as well as the Sheriff's Department (particularly Deputy Perlewitz) have been extremely sympathetic and helpful, we appreciate your efforts.
-Ron

I am a member of the Tuolumne County SAR team and participated in the fly over on Sat. I had hoped so badly to have been able to locate Brent that morning, knowing that finding him would help provide some closure to this very unfortunate accident. To Brent's family, friends and the river community, I am truly sorry for your loss.

Christina
TCSAR member

Our thanks go out to all the rafting companies/outfitters, Brent's paddling friends and the Tuolumne County SAR in helping with the search efforts in an attempt to bring closure to this tragedy. Brent grew up and lived most of his short life on the banks of the Crystal River just downstream and next door from where we have raised our family.

There are many here in the Crystal River valley of western Colorado who mourn Brent's passing and share in the grief at the loss of a brother, a son and a friend.

Althought the news of this incident weighs heavy on my heart, it makes it easier reading the kind words, and wonderful memories that people have of our friend Brent. Brent and i shared four wonderful years of high school together in the roaring fork valley, boating, hiking, and being young men. during that time brent really left his footprints on my heart, and now that he is gone, i see that i was not the only one. Brent, althought your death may not have been pretty, your life was beautiful. I, along with all these other wonderful people, will truely miss you.

hasta luego hermano,

austin corry

I had the pleasure of meeting Brent as soon as I got off the plane in Valdivia. From that point on we spent four adventure filled months exploring the countryside of Chile. Never in my life have I had as much fun. Although I only knew Brent for a short amount of time, his passion for life and his humor left its mark on me. Brent showed me how to take chances and enjoy my time on this earth. It is a shame and a tragedy that his ended so soon. I will miss him and keep him in my thoughts forever.
Love you B.B

I've come into this thread very late, but I also want to send my condolences to Brent's friends and family. I have to comment on this particular spot at Dinosaur rock for I have first hand knowledge of this spot as being a guide on the 'T' for many years and saw the water dynamics change at that spot at higher flows. Further, Will Hagood, the first kayaker to die at that same spot was a very good friend of mine and I feel somewhat responsible for not telling the kayaking community about this very nasty spot earlier. In the flood of 1997, a downstream flake of Dinosaur broke off of the main body and formed an undercut on the river left side of the downstream side of the rock. At higher flows one cannot see this from scouting because it's on the opposite side of the rock and dynamic fromed by the rock from river right where you scout from. Of course from scouting one sees the huge dynamics in Clavey Hole, or wave at that level, and more often than naught the boater tries to stay mostly out of the Clavey Hole dynamic. Also, all the water coming of the falls is feeding that dynamic, and the water in the right side of the Clavey Hole dynamic feeds the left side of Dino. This is what got Will into trouble in 1998. Sounds like the same line as Brent took. If one is going to run that side of the rapid, it is imperative to just run the meat of the wave and not mess with Dino, or run the right bank to the right of scout rock where it sounds like the other kayakers of this party ran it. I guess you could also boof scout rock but you'd better be right on the boof.
After 1997 the Tuolmne guides noticed a huge change in the water dynamics from previous years on the downstream side of Dino at higher flows and was wondering what had changed. In the summer of that year, Chris Condon and myself went down in there at fish flows, 100cfs, and noticed that the flake had indeed broken off and created an ugly undercut.
It's a really scary spot everybody. I got the scariest feeling looking at it in 1997, and when Will died there in 1998, it affected me greatly.
Now that another kayaker has died at that same spot, I just had to give the above warning, although I'm not one to tell people how to run a rapid. Since this party had run the Lower Clavey, they were obviously expert kayakers as well as Will was, so it has nothing to do with ability.
IT IS JUST A VERY NASTY SPOT! STAY AWAY FROM IT PLEASE!
Again, to Brent's family and friends and all those who have been affected by this tragedy. I am truely sorry and my heart goes out to you.

My heart breaks for Brent, his family and his friends. Brent's life was short, but oh so sweet, as anyone who knew him will attest. As a mom of one of Brent's buddies, I know we parents want to protect our kids and at the same time let them fly. But we really have no choice...fly they must and boy could that young man fly. He packed a lot of living into his short life, which in turn gives us all lots of great memories. Peace to all of you and my sincere condolences.

My heart is heavy with sorrow for Brent, his family, and friends. I met Brent when he came to my house with my brother Zak Sears. Zak and Brent had then recently come home from traveling in Chile together. Brent shared stories and pictures with me. Just talking to him for that brief encounter was so enjoyable. Brent was so sweet and caring and funny. He had a passion for life that I try hard to find within myself.
Brent meant so much to my brother and my friend Mike Thurber and Bram Role. The guide house at OARS/DORIES in Idaho is hurting with grief and pain. Brent touched so many hearts and it is so difficult to process the fact that he is no longer with us physically. Brent, you will always be will us in some spiritual way. You are now a part of our hearts, our souls, and our memories. I will think of you and how you touched me and my brother's heart forever. I hope you are in a wonderful place with no pain or suffering. You will never be forgotten.
My deepest sympathy to Brent's family and friends.
Sincerely,
Cassie Sears

I am Brent's dad. We have just lost our son to the river. Parents should not have to bury their 20 year-old children. While we are completely devastated, this is a much better option than many parents have.

Many years ago I became a "river rat" and spent my vacation days running rivers in our rafts throughout Colorado, Utah, Arizona. We utimately bought a home on the Crystal River in western Colorado. My boys were born and raised on the river. I was not surprised when they made river running in kayaks their primary sport. They passed on the organized sports thing in school, in favor of running rivers, creeks, etc. They have traveled throughout New Zealand, Chile, Argentina, running some of the greatest rivers in the world. Their skills are exceptional and they run with some of the finest paddlers in the world. I am very proud.

I wish to thank all of the wonderful friends and other interested river people for your kind and wonderful input in this forum. We will never have our son back, but we respect his passion for the river and we know that his memory will live on.

Dick B.

To Brent's Family:

I am so sorry for your tragic loss. On the other hand, please take comfort in the fact that you taught your son to live every minute to the fullest, and he did. An awful lot of people live to be 80 or 90 years old without ever really experiencing life. In his short time, Brent accomplished that. In Heaven, I'm sure he (and all of us) will find endless friendly whitewater to play in. There are worse fates.

God Bless,
Michelle

I am also from Colorado, and met Brent at the airport in Santiago, Chile this December. He was one of the first people I met in Chile, and myself and my crew had a great 3 weeks or so traveling with Brent. We ran some classic Chilean Rivrs and Creeks, and Brent was always one of the strongest members of the group, both socially and on the water. Brent was 6 years younger than me, but I learned a whole lot from him. He showed me how to get by as a gringo in Chile, and helped me get over some of my personal fears on the river. I am very sad to hear about this tragedy,and there are lots of people in Colorado who are thinking and praying for Brent's family. Brent was an amazing influence on many people. I have some photos of Brent in Chile that I would like to send to his family. If anyone knows the Bradley family's adress please email to: bryanowen78@yahoo.com

Does anyone know if Brents body has been found yet?
A concerned friend

I am not aware of any reports locating Brent so I'd have to say no. Some of us are planning on going back down in Aug / Sep when the water is not as sustained to search some more. If anyone locally knows different please contact the Tuolomne Sheriff's Dept. Thanks
-Ron

I've met Brent upon my arrival to Valdivia - Chile. I had a priviledge to spend time and travel the country with this exceptional man. He made my stay in Chile a life changing experience. I will never forget our nights camping out in Atacama desert, our watching of the moon eclipse with another close friend, his laughter, goofy jokes, sencerity and friendliness. It is devastating to know that we will never see him again. I know how hard it must be for the family and I would like to express my sympathy. Brent is gone, but we can at least say that really lived and used to the maximum the time that God gave him among us.

Comrade Bradley you will always live in my heart.
Boz

i'm truely sorry to hear of brent's passing in california.
he was a great paddler and a real nice person to be with.
he will be missed by many of the lives he touched here in the states as well as abroad. i knew him during some tough times in chile. and through all the lttile bullshit problems he was still loving life and kept a great attitude. ultimately we had some great times and ran some classic rivers.
i heard about this tragidy late but all the same my heart goes out to his family and friends. we'll miss you buddy.
nathan sullivan
kayak chile

to the bradley family, ron and brents friends

My thoughts and prayers will be with you over the days and weeks to come.

God bless you.

todd

This afternoon, I've received and e-mail from Brent's brother, Ryan. Brent's remains had been located today in the Grey's Grindstone series of rapids.

Hopefully locating the body will allow for the much needed closure for the Bradley family.

I offer Ryan and the whole family my deepest condolences and wish them the best in rebuilding their lives without Brent.

Albert

We received notification yesterday that one of the rafting companies found Brent's remains a couple of miles downstream of Clavey Falls. This has been a very difficult nine weeks for our family since Brent was lost on the 16th of June. Our thanks go out to all of the paddlers and the rafting companies that never abandoned the search. The T County Sheriff's department did very little to advance the search but we are hopeful that they can expedite the positive ID functions that need to take place this week. If anyone knows which raft company found him on Saturday we would appreciate receiving contact info. Thanks to all who posted such warm comments about our son.

The Bradley family.

Ryan,
I’m so sorry for your loss. My condolences go out to you and your family.

-Allen

p.s. thanks for getting me into boating, even if it was just by showing me your friends video.

Dear Mr Bradley,

I am writing to let you know that, Brent was found by a private kayaking party on the Tuolumne. They notified the Sherriff, and Zephyr Rafting assisted the Sherriff in locating Grey's Grindstone.

The river community here is deeply sorry for your loss. Your son's spirit will always be present and celebrated.

Kindly James Rodger