Search Under Way For Man Missing In Buffalo River

[flytyer57]

Search under way for man missing in Buffalo River

HARRISON — On Tuesday evening at approximately 7 p.m, David Boyd, 21, of Newton County disappeared in the Buffalo River while attempting to swim to the other side. The incident took place at Blue Hole, a small campground off state Highway 123 in Newton County.

Buffalo National River dispatch was notified by Newton County Sheriff’s Office soon after the event took place. A witness on scene stated that Boyd was swept downstream, went underwater, surfaced but appeared "limp or very relaxed.”

Response efforts were mounted by National Park Service Protection Division Rangers who are coordinating the search efforts including Newton County Sheriff, Searcy County Dive Team, and Arkansas Game & Fish Commission Dive Team from Little Rock. At 8:30 a.m. today, there were 13 search teams combing the river banks in hopes that Boyd had managed to climb out to safety. One NPS boat was running from Mount Hersey to Carver using a sonar unit, and a raft was put in at Blue Hole working downstream, primarily searching the banks. By 10 a.m., efforts shifted from rescue to a recovery effort as hopes for survival diminished.

River conditions at the time of the incident were in flood stage and have continued to be in flood stage throughout the search and recovery process. Witness accounts noted that the river was very muddy and carrying a large amount of debris, clearly an unsafe situation for any type of swimming or boating activity.

While Buffalo National River deeply regrets this tragedy, the ultimate cause leading to these situations comes from ill-advised (STUPID) decisions about safety and risk. The park has attempted to limit restrictions on visitor access and use of the river while at the same time reinforcing safety messages in the hopes that visitors will make informed decisions about what they are willing or not willing to undertake on the Buffalo.

All visitors, including area residents, are strongly encouraged to be as informed as possible about the risks of using the river, whether for swimming, canoeing, kayaking, or other activities, and understand that there is always the potential for accidents, even in low water conditions.

With the Memorial Day weekend on the near horizon, please give some thought to common sense decisions and how they affect yourselves, family and friends.

The public may call Buffalo National River dispatch 24 hours a day at (888) 692-1162 to report an emergency.

[Al Agnew]

Wow. Wonder how much alcohol was involved in that decision.

[gotmuddy]

he is dead. hopefully they at least find the body.

[bobber]

just got home, they have not recovered him as of 2;00 I did two 15 mile down stream run looking but the water is so muddy . and at the time the river was right at flood stage or maybe just under it . i just can't figure out why his friends watched him slip away down stream at 7:30 pm ? a very sad thing. these were non-boaters that drove down to the blue hole area. heading back in the morning but it's not looking good at all.

[flytyer57]

What kind of friend would let their friend try to swim across the river when it's in flood stage and flowing several thousand cfs?

[bobber]

still missing as of tonight sat./28 th.

[flytyer57]

When are people going to wake the F up and stay away from the water when it's dangerous?

I've drank a 12 pack tonight and I still wouldn't get close to the river.

[hoglaw]

You can't fix stupid. Many many folks just don't respect what water can do. I had to prosecute a very young mother in West Fork who tried to cross a low water bridge during a flood. She stalled when she sucked water into the intake and fortunately she and her two very young children were rescued. She had a mimimal amount of alcohol in her system, but that might be due in part to the fact that it took a long time for the police to get her out and test her following the rescue.

She had an angel looking out for her for sure. Those babies were very nearly washed away for good and by some miracle I got to deal with her instead of the coroner. There will always be morons trying to float the hailstone in an inflatable canoe, loading five people in a canoe, or trying to cross low water bridges. I think a combination of ignorance, intoxicants, and "it can't happen to me" is at play in most of these scenarios.

[bobber]

recovery was completed late on sat. evening ..

[stone9-7=2]

That's to bad. Glad to hear he was found.

We were there that weekend & had a great float & a lot of fun.