Man dead in rafting accident on Wenatchee River
May 8, 2023, 12:05 PM | Updated: 1:13 pm
WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES - 2020/06/12: View of the bridge over the Wenatchee River near Leavenworth leading to the Old Pipeline Bed Trail in eastern Washington State, USA. (Photo by Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images)
(Photo by Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images)
A Cashmere man died after a rafting accident on the Wenatchee River last Thursday near Leavenworth.
The Chelan County Sheriff’s Office said that a river raft flipped around 4 p.m. Thursday, with seven people on board. One 46-year-old man was reportedly “not doing well,” so he was brought to shore, and one person started to perform CPR. When medics arrived, they pronounced the man dead at the scene.
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The Chelan County coroner identified the man as the raft’s guide, 46-year-old Robert M. “Mike” Spurrell. The Chelan County Sheriff’s Office said Spurrell was part of a group of seven who fell into the river Thursday after a raft overturned.
Witnesses said Spurrell had a life jacket and was wearing a wetsuit, but never went underwater. The sheriff’s office said he had underlying medical issues, which may have contributed to his death.
The water levels on the Wenatchee River are currently at or near record levels and expected to remain high for the next several days, the sheriff’s office said.
