Knoxville man dies in boating accident
LEATHERWOOD — A 61-year-old canoeist died in a paddling mishap on the Big South Fork of the Cumberland River here late Friday afternoon, apparently after he and his party of whitewater paddlers missed the portage around the powerful Angel Falls rapid.
According to a news release by the National Park Service Monday, the victim has been identified as Tony Evans, 61, of Knoxville. Evans and three companions launched two open canoes at Leatherwood Ford Friday afternoon for a two-day float trip.
Two miles downstream, both boats capsized at the class IV-rated Angel Falls rapid.
“The group missed their intended portage at the Angel Falls rapid and were swept into the class IV whitewater where both canoes overturned,” NPS spokesperson Jeannine McElveen wrote in the release. “All four men were washed through the rapid. They established voice contact and verified that all four had emerged. Two members of the group saw Mr. Evans swimming toward them approximately 100 yards away. Mr. Evans suddenly appeared to experience difficulties. They swam to Mr. Evans, who was unresponsive when they reached him. The two men pulled Mr. Evans to the bank and attempted to revive him.”
After Evans’ companions were unsuccessful in their attempt to revive him, one member of the group hiked back to Leatherwood Ford, where he used an emergency telephone to call 911 at 5:22 p.m., according to the NPS.
The Scott County Rescue Squad and Scott County EMS were dispatched to Leatherwood Ford, along with NPS park rangers Howard Duncan and Tom Barnes. Rescue workers arrived at the Angel Falls rapid at 6:34 p.m. and carried Evans up the river bank to a waiting ATV, which transported him to an ambulance at Leatherwood Ford.
Evans was pronounced dead at St. Mary’s of Scott County emergency room. An autopsy was ordered by Scott County Medical Examiner Max Huff. The investigation is ongoing pending the autopsy’s results.
Evans was not wearing a personal flotation device (PFD) when the accident occurred, according to the NPS.
The accident occurred nearly 30 years to the day after the last boating-related fatality on the Big South Fork. That incident, in May 1979, also occurred at Angel Falls when a canoe capsized.
On Tuesday morning, a short search ended when a pair of canoeists arrived safely at Burnt Mill Bridge near Robbins.
NPS officials say the two men — identified as Kevin Adcock and Kevin Mezick, both of Knoxville — had embarked on a one-day canoe trip on Clear Fork River Monday. When they did not check in with friends and family Monday evening, authorities were alerted. A search began at daybreak Tuesday, but was called off after the two men arrived safely at the bridge at 11 a.m. Tuesday.
According to NPS spokesperson McElveen, the two men said they had capsized in a rapid and had gotten wet, and had spent the night by the river. The two men had no camping gear, and temperatures plunged to an unseasonably low 38 degrees by dawn Tuesday morning. However, both men appeared to be in "satisfactory health," according to an NPS statement.