Alberto Ramirez, Jesse Moran (Bodies found) rafting on Yakima River WA, 05/09/09

[sarahhod]

Two river rafters feared dead

Teens missing since Saturday; search suspended for now

by Mark Morey
Yakima Herald-Republic

http://www.yakima-herald.com/images/photos/2009/5/10/051009_MM_Search_web.jpg?7bab987b5547 (http://www.yakima-herald.com/galleries/2438/photos/1)
MARK MOREY/Yakima Herald-Republic Yakima County sheriff's deputies search the Yakima River Sunday afternoon near the Parker Bridge for two teen rafters missing since Saturday night.

http://d1.openx.org/lg.php?bannerid=37858&campaignid=15800&zoneid=717&loc=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.yakima-herald.com%2Fstories%2F2009%2F05%2F10%2Ftwo-teenage-rafters-missing-on-yakima-river&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.google.co.uk%2Fnews%3Fum %3D1%26ned%3Duk%26hl%3Den%26ncl%3DdrduVVHByO7FzzME xhftYEJsZd8sM%26cf%3Dall%26scoring%3Dn&cb=45ac91cb9e
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PARKER, Wash. — The active search for two teen rafters missing on the Yakima River ended Sunday afternoon with no sign that they would be found alive.
Searchers had held out hope that the pair would be rescued, but the search was called off after nearly 16 hours on the water. The two disappeared when their raft capsized Saturday night after going over the Wapato irrigation dam at Union Gap.
A plane and Chelan County sheriff’s helicopters were brought in Sunday to assist vessel and ground teams from the Yakima County Sheriff’s Office.
The missing brothers are from Wapato and Toppenish. A pair of brothers from Wapato, also in their teens, made it safely to shore; one of them reported the incident to a state trooper on Highway 97 about 8 p.m. Saturday after an extended delay, authorities said.
The boys’ names were not released, and family members gathered at the Parker Bridge on Sunday afternoon declined to comment.
Sheriff’s Sgt. Judd Towell, search and rescue coordinator, said Sunday evening that the search may resume if aircraft are available later this week.
The rafters’ trip started at 16th Avenue and Highway 12 on the Naches River. One of their cars was parked along the Yakima River shore outside Wapato, a possible indication they planned to get out in that area, Towell said.
The boys were wearing life jackets, authorities said, although their swimming ability was reportedly limited.
Towell said he would recommend that boaters avoid the river during this time of year due to hazardous conditions.
Although the surface appears relatively calm, underwater debris and rocks in the channel can easily overturn a vessel or trap a person. Also, being in the still-chilly water can cause hypothermia.

http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2009/05/10/two-teenage-rafters-missing-on-yakima-river



(http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=20)

[sarahhod]

2 young men missing on Yakima River

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
YAKIMA, Wash. -- The search has been suspended for two young men who went missing while rafting on the Yakima River.
They were in a group of four young men whose raft capsized on the river Saturday evening. Two brothers from Wapato were found safe. But two others - from Toppenish and Wapato - remained missing Sunday.
A Washington State Patrol trooper, about 8 p.m. Saturday, picked up a pedestrian who said he and the three other young men had been rafting when their raft capsized. At 9 p.m. Saturday, searchers located another of the young men on an island below Wapato Dam.
A backpack belonging to one of the missing men was found pinned across a log.
The names and other details of the rafters were not immediately released.

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/6420ap_wa_missing_rafters.html

[sarahhod]

Two Teens Missing After Raft Capsizes
http://media.kimatv.com/images/resuce.jpg
Story Published: May 10, 2009 at 6:45 PM PDT

By Sade Malloy

http://media.kimatv.com/designimages/fisher_videoicon.gif Watch the story (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:openPopup%28%27%2Fr%3F19%3D950%2632%3D3676%26 7%3D147086%2640%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.kimatv.co m%252Fnews%252F44680312.html%253Fvideo%253DYHI%252 6t%253Da%2641%3DVideo%2BTwo%2BTeens%2BMissing%2BAf ter%2BRaft%2BCapsizes%2618%3D0.021162945044516768% 27,%27video%27,%27scrollbars=yes,width=800,height= 630,screenx=15,screeny=15%27%29;)


Yakima River -- Exclusive video of a dramatic water rescue with two teen rafters still missing. The two missing teens were part of a group of four rafting on the Yakima River.

Four teens from Wapato were floating down the Yakima River when their raft flipped over throwing all four teens into the water by the Wapato dam.

One teen made it out of the river and to I-82 where he asked a Washington State Trooper for help. This is the amazing video of the Sheriff's Water Response Team rescuing a second rafter on Saturday night near the Wapato Dam and the teen's first embrace with his family.
"Searching a river from the water is the most effective way because you can see in and under the brush around the strainers," says Jerrold Towel, YSO Search & Rescue.

Yakima County Search & Rescue spent Sunday scanning the river with two boats, a fixed winged aircraft, and a helicopter. Deputies tell Action News they found a backpack belonging to one of the missing rafters. "It just means that we concentrate a little heavier on that area," says Jerrold Towel, YSO Search & Rescue.

The bag is a sign of hope for the family and friends waiting along the river as deputies search. One family member told me they're trying to stay positive and believe the boys are still alive.

http://www.kimatv.com/news/44680312.html

[sarahhod]

Search for Missing Rafters Suspended
Posted: May 11, 2009 02:43 AM
Updated: May 11, 2009 04:52 AM


http://kndu.images.worldnow.com/images/3744645_vt.jpg (http://www.kndo.com/Global/story.asp?S=10336984#)Search Continues For The Two Lost In Rafting Accident (http://www.kndo.com/Global/story.asp?S=10336984#)


http://kndu.images.worldnow.com/images/10336984_BG1.jpg http://kndu.images.worldnow.com/images/static/gfx/pxl_trans.gif


WAPATO--The search for two teens lost on the Yakima River after their raft overturned has been suspended.
Crews have not been able to find two teens that have been missing since 8 p.m. Saturday.
The Yakima County Sheriff's Office suspended Sunday's search at 2:30 p.m. after working since 7 a.m. because they just don't have enough manpower.
Search and rescue teams combed the area from the river and the air. Neighboring counties lent a small plane and a helicopter.
But, they didn't find the two teens, just a backpack and one shoe.
A friend says the four men, aged 15 through 20, set off downriver in two rafts near 16th Ave. in Yakima around 2 p.m. yesterday.
Their rafts overturned near the Wapato Dam around 8 p.m. Saturday. Two brothers from Wapato were found within an hour, but the other two--from Toppenish and Wapato, respectively--are still missing.
A friend told KNDO the four are experienced rafters, but the river is higher than normal right now.
Even though rescue crews called off Sunday's search, they're not giving up hope.
"It's Mother's Day today and resources, search and rescue is primarily volunteer help," Sgt. Judd Towell, Yakima County Sheriff's Office, said. "There's never a reason to give up hope. Time's always our friend and/or our enemy."
Towell said the search will resume on Tuesday or Wednesday once a plane or helicopter is available.
People close to the missing men were too shook up to go on camera, but they did say the two who have been found are okay.
They also wanted to thank volunteers for their efforts.
A YSO press release said one of the missing men was last seen wearing a red shirt, dark colored shorts and a red and blue flotation vest, and the other was wearing a blue shirt and blue shorts.
Sheriffs also want to remind people that at this time of year the river is very cold and very fast. There are also many hazards in the river and on the riverbanks.

http://www.kndo.com/Global/story.asp?S=10336984

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[Roamer]

So sad. Spring comes, people go boating, fishing or swimming, and drown.

[sarahhod]

I may have put this in the wrong section.

The articles only say teens right now but when we know their ages we can move if necessary.

[sarahhod]

Search suspended for two Yakima River rafters

[/URL]May 11, 2009 11:34 AM


YAKIMA, Wash. (Map (http://www.examiner.com/a-2009135%7ESearch_suspended_for_two_Yakima_River_ra fters.html#articleComments), News (http://www.examiner.com/Dateline-YAKIMA%2C%20WashpRD.html)) - The Yakima County sheriff's office says it will wait a few days before reassessing the search for two teens missing after their raft overturned in the Yakima River (http://www.examiner.com/Subject-Yakima_River.html).Search-and-rescue Sgt. Jerrold Towell (http://www.examiner.com/Subject-Jerrold_Towell.html) said Monday the water level, weather or other conditions may change. He says a full day of searching Sunday by air and water covered everything visible for now.
The two teens, one from Toppenish and one from Wapato, were in a group of four whose inflatable raft capsized Saturday evening, going over the turbulent water of the Wapato irrigation diversion dam at Union Gap.
The other two - brothers from Wapato who were wearing life vests - safely made it to shore.
Of the two still missing, Towell says one wore a life vest and one did not.

[url]http://www.examiner.com/a-2009135~Search_suspended_for_two_Yakima_River_raft ers.html

[sarahhod]

MISSING YAKIMA RIVER RAFTERS; ONE BODY FOUND


The Yakima County sheriff's office says a body has been found in the Yakima River after a weekend accident in which two teens were dumped into the water when their raft overturned. Sgt. Jerrold Towell says a local resident called the sheriff's office yesterday afternoon to report finding a body the resident believed was one of the missing teens. A search and rescue team recovered the body, which had been trapped by limbs of a tree in the river. No name was released pending positive identification. The two teens, one from Toppenish and one from Wapato, were in a group of four whose inflatable raft capsized Saturday evening. The other two rafters safely made it to shore.

http://www.masoncountydailynews.com/News/NewsArticle/tabid/1897/smid/3468/ArticleID/7228/reftab/1632/Default.aspx

[annalyzer]

Body discovered identified as 20 year-old Wapato man
PARKER, Wash. — The victim recovered this afternoon from Sunday’s rafting accident on the Yakima River has been identified as Alberto Ramirez, a 20-year-old Wapato man.

Yakima County Coroner Jack Hawkins confirmed the man’s identity and said he expected to oversee an autopsy this evening.

Ramirez was wearing a lifejacket when his body was found trapped under a freshly downed tree in the river east of the Sunnyside Dam, authorities said.

Family members searching for the two teenagers missing on the Yakima River east of Union Gap found the body, said Yakima County sheriff’s officials, who have led the official search effort.

County search and rescue officials recovered the body about 2 p.m.

The other boy — described as a young teen from Toppenish — has not been located.

The two youths were rafting the Yakima River late Saturday with two brothers from Wapato when their raft capsized after going over the Wapato diversion dam, south of Union Gap.

One of the two Wapato brothers was able to get out of the river, while the second was found on an island southwest of the dam. They were taken to a Yakima hospital for treatment of hypothermia.

Emergency personnel searched late Saturday and resumed searching Sunday without success.

The four were equipped with life vests, put their raft in the river at North 16th Avenue on the Naches River, apparently intending to float down to Wapato. The unrecovered victim apparently no longer has a lifejacket on, authorities said.

The stretch of the Yakima River south of Terrace Heights is considered extremely dangerous because of high river speed this time of year, amount of snags in the river and brush along the shore.



http://yakimaherald.com/stories/2009/05/11/body-discovered-by-family-of-missing-rafters

[annalyzer]

Search Continues on Yakima River For Missing Rafter

KNDO-TV
updated 12:30 a.m. ET, Thurs., May 14, 2009

NEAR WAPATO, Wash. - Search and rescue crews were out on the Yakima River for a fourth day Tuesday looking for a missing rafter from an accident on Saturday night.

The Yakima County Sheriff's Office had teams in two boats going back and forth in a 4.5-mile perimeter. The area was between the Sunnyside dam and the Donald Wapato Bridge.

Lt. Brian Winter leads the water response team for the sheriff's office. He admits that finding the man will be difficult.

"We know what passed experience and history have told us as far as our chances of finding him at this point are pretty slim," he said. "While that's not something that kept us from being out here today we recognize that fact."

The sheriff's office says part of the reason the search for the remaining rafter will be more of a challenge is because he did not have a life jacket on when the raft overturned on Saturday. They are looking into getting additional help in the search from an airplane or helicopter.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30707979/

[annalyzer]

Family Speaks About the Missing Rafter in the Yakima River

KNDO-TV
updated 5 minutes ago

YAKIMA, Wash.- About 100 friends and family members of the rafter who's missing in the Yakima River teamed together to try to find him.

Search and Rescue crews also continued to look for 19-year-old Jessie Moran, who's been missing since Saturday. Sheriff Deputies say Moran and three other men were rafting when they capsized near the Wapato Dam. Searchers found the body of 20-year-old Alberto Ramirez Monday. Two others survived.

Family and friends have been at the river since, looking for Moran and supporting one another. They say they'll keeping looking until they find him.

"I need my family needs closure, we need to find him, he's been out there too long," said Maria Rengel, the missing rafter's sister.

Loved ones are displaying photos of victim Alberto Ramirez and of Jessie Moran. People have been stopping by the river to pay respect and offer support.

Deputies say Moran wasn't wearing a life jacket, which is making the search harder. They admit finding him will be difficult.

Family and Tribal Police are also working together to search the river, but say they're in need of boats and wave runners.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30735036/

[annalyzer]

Friends & Family of Missing Rafter Still Searching

Posted: May 17, 2009 09:12 PM EDT
Updated: May 17, 2009 10:02 PM EDT

WAPATO--The body of one rafter lost in a tragic accident on the Yakima River last weekend still hasn't been found, but friends and family aren't giving up.

Jesse Moran's family says they just want closure. It's been eight days since anyone's seen Jesse, but his family says they won't stop looking until they've found him.

Sheriff's deputies said Moran and three other men were rafting when they capsized near the Wapato Dam last Saturday.

Two days later, volunteers found the body of 20-year-old Alberto Ramirez.

The two others were rescued the day the raft disappeared.

Dozens of cars filled a lot beneath the Donald Bridge Sunday, just like they have for the past week.

Moran's best friend says he and moran's family still have faith.

"Everybody still wants to look for that person. People here they might not even know him but I mean, this is a community, we're working as one and we want to get him with the help of others. It's hard. It's been hard these past couple days but we aren't giving up."

We weren't able to go too deep into the forests, but searchers said teams of about 15 people are searching the riverbanks on each side.

Moran's family said their efforts wouldn't be possible without help from Yakama Nation Tribal Police and the Lower Valley community as a whole.

http://www.kndo.com/Global/story.asp?S=10377311&nav=menu484_2_7

[Nut44x4]

Last updated July 20, 2009 9:20 a.m. PT
YAKIMA, Wash. -- A body found Sunday on the bank of the Yakima River near Zillah is believed to be a Wapato man who drowned May 9 in a rafting accident.

The Yakima County sheriff's office says the body has not yet been positively identified by the coroner.

It was found by friends of Jesse Moran Castro, and relatives told The Yakima Herald-Republic they believe it is him.

The 19-year-old and a 20-year-old friend, Alberto Ramirez of Wapato, were thrown in the water when their raft capsized after going over a diversion dam near Union Gap.

The body of Ramirez was found a few days later by searchers.

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/6420ap_wa_missing_rafter.html?source=mypi

[Nut44x4]

Family says body found on riverbank is that of missing rafter
YAKIMA, Wash. -- More than two months after a fatal rafting accident on the Yakima River, relatives of one of the two dead young men say they finally can heal.

Around 7 a.m. Sunday, friends conducting their own search for the body of Jesse Morán Castro discovered what they believe are his remains along the riverbank.

"We're just happy we found him," said Morán's sister, Azusena Rangel Morán. "We've been going out every day to look for him. We're grateful that we had a lot of help."

Morán, 19, and his friend Alberto Ramirez, 20 -- both university students from Wapato -- drowned when their raft capsized on May 9 after going over the Wapato diversion dam near Union Gap.

Days later, an informal search party made up of relatives and friends found Ramirez's body.

The remains discovered Sunday were lodged in trees along the north side of the river bank near Zillah.The body was found by two family friends who had come from Seattle to help with the search.

Upon making the discovery, they called Morán's parents, who went to the river bank with other relatives, Rangel Morán said. Yakama Tribal Police officers helped cut away the wood with chain saws.

While the remains have not been positively identified by authorities, relatives say they know it's Morán.

"They found his shoes," Rangel Morán said. "Nikes. Size 9. White.

"My dad saw them before he left the house. That's how we know."

In the weeks after the accident, relatives had expressed frustration with the county's official search and rescue team -- which had asked them to stop searching on their own for safety reasons. The river reached flood levels and was dangerous to navigate.

Yakima County Coroner Jack Hawkins said he hopes to make a positive identification today by using dental records.

"We have to be absolutely sure," he said. "But we don't have a lot of people lost in the river. We've been looking for him and are fairly confident it's probably him."

Morán's parents declined to be interviewed, but their daughter said "they're doing better. We're doing better."

http://www.yakimaherald.com/stories/2009/07/19/family-says-body-found-on-riverbank-is-that-of-missing-rafter

[Nut44x4]

County Coroner Confirms Body found in Yakima River is Jesse Moran
Updated: July 20, 2009 06:19 PM EDT

YAKIMA, Wash.- The Yakima County Coroner confirmed Monday that the body found in the Yakima River is that of the missing rafter Jesse Moran.
Coroner Jack Hawkins said they used dental records to identify Moran.

Nineteen-year-old Moran was on a rafting trip with friends last may when the raft overturned near the Wapato Dam.

Alberto Ramirez also died in the rafting accident.

Family and friends say they thought it was Moran because he was wearing the same shoes as the body found near the river.
http://www.kndu.com/global/story.asp?s=10757719