Published: June 15, 2006 10:56 pm         

Whitewater rafter’s body recovered

The body of a Maryland man who drowned in an Upper Gauley River whitewater rafting accident was recovered early Thursday afternoon, authorities reported.

Rescue workers recovered the body of Neville Williams, 67, of St. Michaels, Md., at 12:45 p.m., said Chief Ranger Gary Hartley of the New River Gorge National River. Williams’ body was located by a rock known as “Woodstock,” which was near the point where he went overboard while whitewater rafting Wednesday afternoon.

Williams was with a scouting/explorer group being taken down the Upper Gauley by Oak Hill-based Ace Adventure Center, Hartley said. When the group reached the Iron Ring rapid near the Fayette-Nicholas County line, Williams was ejected from the raft.

According to witnesses, the group was going through an area with several drops, Hartley said. Williams was bounced out of the raft on the first drop. Because they were in the middle of a rapid, the group could not turn the raft around.

In the whitewater rafting industry, it is customary to have what are called “set safeties” go ahead of the groups and often stay on each side of the rafts, Hartley said. These people are positioned to throw ropes to those who may go overboard. The safety on this trip apparently did not see Williams go through the rapid.

The investigation will be turned over to the state Division of Natural Resources, the agency governing the whitewater industry, Hartley said. Williams’ body was taken to the state medical examiner’s office in South Charleston.

The rescue efforts were challenging given the Class V rapids, Hartley said. However, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dropped water flow at Summersville Dam to 200 cubic feet per second. Special permission was later obtained to drop the flow further to 100 cfs.

The Nuttall and Ansted volunteer fire departments and Jan-Care Ambulance assisted the National Park Service at the scene along with five guides from Ace Whitewater Adventure Center, Hartley said. The guides’ knowledge of the rapids and rocks was extremely valuable during the search.

Whitewater rafting fatalities in the national park are rare, Hartley said. Whitewater rafters are accompanied by expert guides, and companies have plenty of safety equipment on hand. Most drownings in the area occur in the calmer areas of the New River, in which those swimming and fishing — often with no lifejackets — fall victim.

“This individual was doing everything right,” Hartley said. “He was with a very experienced guide, he was wearing safety equipment — a helmet. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Williams was visiting the area with his wife, Hartley said. His wife stayed behind at Ace Adventure Center while he went on the Upper Gauley.

— E-mail: apridemore@register-herald.com