Every Spring and Summer, people drown on low-head dams. It's one thing
to accidentally end up in a low-head dam, but to do so intentionally is
madness and to do so without wearing a PFD is a death wish. Hopefully,
someone who has pondered running a low-head dam will learn from this
tragic mistake. Don't do it!
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SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/..._Over_Dam.html

Tuesday, June 6, 2006 · Last updated 6:13 a.m. PT
Kayak goes over dam in Tri-Cities, man missing and presumed dead

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

KENNEWICK, Wash. -- Two men in a kayak went over a dam on the Yakima
River between Richland and Kennewick, and one was missing and presumed
drowned, Benton County sheriff's deputies said.

Gary Dean Kirk, 46, of Kennewick, reportedly surfaced a couple of times
about 30 feet downstream from the Wanawish Dam, also known as Horn
Rapids Dam, along State Route 240 before a witness lost sight of him
Saturday afternoon, witnesses said.

Cody Lee Hughes, 20, of Kennewick, who had been with Kirk in the
two-person kayak, was rescued after swimming toward shore through the
rapid current and clinging clung to a snag near a maple tree in about
four feet of water about 30 feet into the river, according to a news
release issued by sheriff's Capt. Charles Kissler.

As of Monday evening no trace of Kirk had been found in a search using
ground parties, personal watercraft, inflatable boats and a sheriff's
airplane, deputies said. More aerial searching is planned, Cpl. Brian
White said.

Kirk's 19-year-old daughter Janelle was being comforted by friends at
home, while his 18-year-old son Aaron joined in the search.

Signs posted along the river warn boaters to stay out of the area, and
the kayak contained life jackets but neither Hughes nor Kirk was
wearing one, White said.

"The information that I received from (Hughes) was that (Kirk) said he
had gone over the dam before, so they were trying to go over the dam
intentionally without wearing life jackets," he said.

Lowhead dams like the Wanawish can be deceptively dangerous because
boats and other objects that go over the drop can be caught in currents
that force them under water, said Scott Pattison, a spokesman for
Columbia Basin Dive Rescue.

Kirk and Hughes were swept beyond the boil line but were pitched out of
the kayak in the turbulence, he said.

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Information from: Tri-City Herald, http://www.tri-cityherald.com