Oregon woman dies on Rogue River after being knocked out of raft
A 66-year-old woman from Powers died Saturday after she was knocked out of a raft on the Rogue River and drowned, according to the Curry County Sheriff’s Office.
Mary Kohn began a float with three others and a dog from Foster Bar Boat Ramp, near Agness and east of Gold Beach in southern Oregon, officials said.
“Shortly after being on the water, the two females on the raft and a dog got flipped out at the Two-Mile Rapids,” the sheriff’s office said. “Others in the rafting party were able to get both the females to shore but one (Kohn) had drowned.”
Marine Sergeant Jared Gray responded to the scene, along with others from search and rescue.
There were life vests aboard the raft but no one in the rafting party were wearing them, the sheriff's office said. Two-mile rapids are considered Class II+/III rapids with a large wave train.
Teddy, the dog that fell into the water from the raft, has not been located. The dog is a black and white Australian shepherd with a pink collar.
The Rogue River is one of Oregon’s most popular rivers to float but frequently among its deadliest. Three people died on the river in both 2022 and 2023.
The section of river the women were floating was below the river’s most famous section, a wilderness stretch that ends at Foster Bar. However, there still are rapids of consequence downstream.
Not wearing a life jacket is by far the most common factor in Oregon boating fatalities, year after year. In many fatal incidents, victims have life jackets in the boat but are not wearing them at the time of the incident.
Zach Urness has been an outdoors reporter in Oregon for 16 years and is host of the Explore Oregon Podcast. Urness is the author of “Best Hikes with Kids: Oregon” and “Hiking Southern Oregon.” He can be reached at zurness@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6801. Find him on X at @ZachsORoutdoors.
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Oregon woman dies on Rogue River after being knocked out of raft
