Thrill-Seeking Woman Dead In Grand Canyon After Being Swept By Strong Rapids

A thrill-seeking woman who reportedly went on a boating trip in the Grand Canyon died after she was swept by strong rapids and was pulled in by the Colorado River on Thursday, March 24.

Mary Kelley, a 68-year-old from Steamboat Springs, Colorado, was reportedly on a multi-day private boating trip when she entered the Colorado River at the top of Hance Rapid. She was later found unresponsive after members of another boating trip entered the area on Thursday, March 24. After discovering Kelley, the members of the boating group pulled her out from the water and began performing Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on her, USA Today reported.

The boating group, who were near Hance Rapid in the eastern part of the Grand Canyon National Park, then alerted the Grand Canyon National Park officials about the emergency situation shortly after 11 a.m. on Thursday.

The group continued performing CPR on Kelley until park rangers arrived with a helicopter and other emergency equipment. However, the rangers were unable to resuscitate Kelley, the Sacramento Bee reported.

“Park rangers were flown into the location with the park helicopter and all resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful,” officials said on Friday, March 25.

“Kelley was on day nine of a multi-day private boating trip,” they added.

However, the park officials did not reveal the circumstances that led to Kelley becoming unresponsive in the water. Kelley was reported to have entered the area near Hance Rapid, which park officials called a “highly technical and powerful whitewater rapid.”

Hance Rapid is made up of strong whitewater rapids and is considered to be highly dangerous. According to park officials, the rapid is considered "one of the hardest and longest rapids in the Grand Canyon."

Following the incident, the National Park Service and the county medical examiner have mobilized a team to investigate the incident and the circumstances that led to the accident.

According to the National Park Service, many tourists take commercial river trips on the Colorado River. Some take single-day or half-day trips. However, some other trips can be up to 18 days.

Multiple people have been reported to have died on the Colorado River in 2021. In June 2021, a 63-year-old man who went on a six-day private boating trip was reported dead. Earlier, in April 2021, a 60-year-old woman similarly died in a boating accident when a commercial river trip motorboat overturned.