Ronnie Zoffer, 09/03/08
1 dead, 1 critical in Girdwood raft accident
Anchorage Daily News, September 3rd, 2008
One person is dead and another in critical condition after they fell off a raft
on Girdwood's Glacier Creek this afternoon, according to Alaska State Troopers.
The accident took place at about 12:45 p.m. as four people made their way down the
river, troopers spokeswoman Megan Peters said.
For reasons not immediately clear, the party fell into the frigid water. Two of
the people were able to climb out and call for help, one had been killed and the
other critically injured, Peters said.
One of them was later found dead and the other was transported to a hospital in
critical condition, she said.
The names of the involved people were not immediately released.
1 rafter dead, 1 critically injured in Girdwood
ICY RAPIDS: A California woman perished after the group of four fell in.
By JAMES HALPIN, jhalpin@adn.com, September 4th, 2008
A trip down turbulent river rapids in Girdwood turned deadly Wednesday afternoon,
with one woman killed and her husband critically injured, according to Alaska State
Troopers and the city fire department. Four people rafting down Glacier Creek fell
into its frigid waters shortly before 12:45 p.m., but only three came out alive,
troopers spokeswoman Megan Peters said.
Killed in the churning waters was Ronnie Zoffer, 73, of Laguna Hills, Calif., Peters
said. Her husband, identified by troopers as Charles Zoffer, 75, was critically
injured and flown to Providence Alaska Medical Center.
Uninjured were Daniel Paz, of Anchorage, and Lance Terry, of Girdwood, Peters said.
Initial reports were that one of those men was missing, but he actually swam out
of the current upriver of the rest and tried to walk through the woods to find a
road and help, she said. The man -- Peters didn't know which -- was picked up in
good condition.
"The other three were basically on the sandbar, which was basically a good thing,
because that's where we were able to get the helicopters in," said Girdwood Fire
Department Chief Bill Chadwick.
Rescuers, including firefighters hiking up on foot as well as the helicopters, found
a survivor performing CPR on Ronnie Zoffer about a half mile from the hand tram
on the Crow Creek Mine Trail.
Chadwick said the raft was guided by Alaska Backcountry Access, a "multi-sport adventure
company" that offers tours out of Girdwood, according to its Web site. Messages
left for the company's owner, Andy Morrison, were not returned Wednesday.
Chadwick said he didn't know exactly what went wrong on the water, but that conditions
in the area have been rough in recent days, with fairly heavy rains -- several inches
in the past few days -- pummeling the valley. Rivers were swelling and creating
hazardous conditions, he said.
"I'm not sure exactly what happened out there," Chadwick said. "It sounds like they
probably got into a situation that they probably shouldn't have been in."
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Find James Halpin online at adn.com/contact/jhalpin or call him at 257-4589.