Authorities are warning the public to stay off the Snake River after a man nearly drowned in the waterway Saturday night.
Conditions on the river are extremely dangerous and law enforcement officials are telling the public to stay off the river until its swift current and rising level subside. Furthermore, anyone near the river should use extreme caution to keep from falling into the waterway, authorities said.
The warning was issued after a 47-year-old Idaho Falls man decided to enter the Snake River at South Tourist Park in Idaho Falls on Saturday night. He was apparently not wearing a life jacket at the time.
When the man disappeared in the river’s strong current, the group of people he was camping with at the park dialed 911 and Bonneville County sheriff’s deputies and Idaho Falls fire units responded to the scene.
Emergency responders began searching for the man and the Air Idaho rescue helicopter was called in to help from above.
Authorities eventually called off the search late Saturday night because of the lack of visibility and dangerous river conditions. But the effort to find the man resumed Sunday morning, with the assumption being that he had drowned in the river.
Then the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office learned that the man had miraculously survived the raging river and had pulled himself out of the water downstream. The man left the area with some other friends. But he didn’t notify anyone else until Sunday morning that he was alive and OK, the Sheriff’s Office reported.
“Heavy intoxication was a factor in this case and could have easily resulted in a drowning,” the Sheriff’s Office said. “Again, we remind everyone that the Snake River is very dangerous at this time and we urge extreme caution. Incidents such as this where alcohol and heavy drinking result in poor judgement put good Samaritans, rescue personnel and others at risk.”
