A rafting accident in the summer of 2024 on the Colorado River left one person dead and one person missing. Nearly one year later, the missing rafter was found on May 21 after a significant decrease in water levels in the area.

On Saturday, June 1, 2024, the Grand County communications team received a text to 911 reporting that a subject was not breathing on the Colorado River in the Gore Canyon, southwest of Kremmling.

Additionally, a Garmin device sent out a message that there had been a rafting accident and that CPR was in progress on an adult male, who was later pronounced dead by EMS personnel.

The Grand County Coroner’s Office identified the deceased male as Brent Boulter, a 56-year-old man from Aurora.

A total of nine agencies from Grand and Eagle counties responded to the area due to the report being on the county line.

There was another male subject who was still missing following the accident and raft capsizing. He was later identified as Thomas Russell, a 61-year-old man from Littleton.

A third individual from the group was able to safely exit the river and was accounted for.

Emergency responders used rafts, ground crews, drones and a hi-rail train/truck hybrid to search the river and surrounding area for the missing subject. The initial searches were done at Yarmony Rapid and downstream, where it was believed the raft capsized.

The Yarmony Rapid in the Upper Colorado River is considered Class II, but rises to a Class III rapid at 1,500 cfs and above. The river can flow as high as 5,000 cfs or more.

During higher flows, a large hole forms above a boulder on the right side of the rapid. This hole can cause rafts to capsize. Rapid classes range from I to VI, with I considered easy floats and VI extremely dangerous.

Preliminary reports said that neither deceased subject was wearing a personal flotation device.

Additional searches were conducted on raft and kayak in the Colorado River on Sunday, June 2, 2024 by river rangers from the Bureau of Land Management and an officer from Colorado Parks and Wildlife, but they were unable to locate the missing rafter.

On May 21, 2025, the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office contacted the Grand County Sheriff’s Office letting them know that they had located a deceased subject in the Colorado River near Rancho Del Rio. The discovery took place after a significant decrease in water levels in the area, according to the news release.

Based on preliminary investigations, the subject was believed to be Thomas Russell, the missing rafter from 2024.

The Eagle County Coroner’s Office transferred the case to the Grand County Coroner’s Office. Thomas Russell was forensically identified by an odontologist who identified the victim using dental evidence.