JOSEPHINE COUNTY, Ore. — Search crews recovered a body Saturday believed to be that of a 65-year-old man who disappeared after a rafting accident in the Wild and Scenic section of the Rogue River four days earlier.
The incident began at approximately 1:16 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 4, when 911 dispatchers received an emergency message from a Garmin GPS device reporting a rafting accident at Wildcat Rapid.
According to the Josephine County Sheriff’s Office, 65-year-old Reid Litwack was traveling in an inflatable raft when it became pinned in the rapid. Litwack was reportedly swept underwater and did not resurface.
Garmin assisted dispatchers with communicating with members of the rafting party while sheriff’s deputies, Search and Rescue volunteers and Bureau of Land Management personnel developed a plan to reach the group in the remote section of the river.
At approximately 5:30 a.m. the following morning, deputies and BLM personnel began hiking several hours to reach the rafters.
The remaining members of the party were able to hike out of the area. BLM personnel arranged to float the group’s belongings and equipment farther downriver, where the items were secured for later retrieval.
Litwack remained missing.
The search took another turn Friday, Aug. 7, when 911 received a satellite message from an unrelated rafting party reporting that they had discovered a body downstream from the original accident.
Deputies, Search and Rescue personnel and BLM crews launched a recovery operation from Grave Creek. After approximately two hours on the river, crews reached the reported area.
However, markers reportedly left to help identify the location were no longer present. Despite an extensive search, crews were unable to find the body that day.
Deputies returned to the river Saturday morning for another search.
At approximately 2:01 p.m., deputies sent a satellite message to dispatchers confirming that a body had been located and recovered.
Search and Rescue personnel met deputies at Black Bar Lodge to assist with transportation.
Investigators believe the recovered person is Litwack, although formal identification remained pending through the Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office. His next of kin have been notified.
The Sheriff’s Office thanked BLM personnel, Search and Rescue volunteers and Black Bar Lodge for their assistance with the operation.
Authorities are reminding those traveling into remote sections of the Rogue River to carry alternate forms of communication, prepare for emergencies and provide someone with their planned route and expected return time before leaving.
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