A kayaker drowned on the Eel River Sunday when her kayak was pinned against a McCann Bridge piling, Lt. Wayne Hansen with the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office said.
Samantha Dweck, 24, of Carlisle, Mass. was kayaking on the river with 23 others in canoes and kayaks when she and another man went under the bridge in a kayak and their kayak was trapped against the bridge by the swift water, Hansen said.
“The male was able to get out of the kayak but the female was trapped under the kayak,” he said. “She had a life vest on but once the kayak went upside down and was trapped unfortunately it didn’t matter.”
Fellow kayakers called 911 but the water was too dangerous to attempt a rescue themselves, Hansen said. A 991 call was received at 9:45 a.m. and Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue, Fruitland Ridge Fire Department, Eel River Valley Rescue and Cal Fire all responded to the scene, he said.
“Because of the remote location unfortunately by the time units got there she had passed,” Hansen said. “It is tragic.”
The group was visiting from out of town and the boaters were part of a running or jogging group, Hansen said.
“It is the first time I can remember that someone drowned there on a kayak, but every year we have water accidents in the county,” Hansen said.
