Colorado Rafting Accident Kills Fire Captain

54-year-old was pinned under raft that got stuck on rock
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 1, 2024 2:30 AM CDT
Fire Captain Dies in Colorado Rafting Accident
Stock photo.   (Getty Images / z1b)

Michael Harp was rafting down the Green River in Colorado's Dinosaur National Monument last week when the trip took a tragic turn. The group's raft got stuck on a rock in the Canyon of Lodore on Thursday afternoon, in a Class III/IV rapid known as Hells Half Mile, Fox News reports. The 54-year-old was pinned under the raft, and was already unresponsive by the time the group managed to dislodge it from the rock. "The group was eventually able to unpin and secure the boat, but the person, now dislodged, unresponsive, and having lost his lifejacket, drifted downriver," the National Park Service says in a statement cited by ABC 4. His body was found 10 miles downstream on Friday morning, Denver 7 reports.

Harp was a fire captain and 27-year veteran of the Salt Lake City Fire Department in Utah. The second-generation firefighter had deployed to Ground Zero after the September 11 terrorist attacks. "Captain Michael Harp dedicated his life to the service of not only the citizens of Salt Lake City, but also his fellow firefighters," the department wrote in a post mourning Harp. "His legacy of service, leadership, compassion, and contagious laughter will forever be remembered by all who knew him." (More Colorado stories.)

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