Accidents of the Week - May 24, 2025
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Kayaker Dies During Fishing Tournament
5/17/25 – Plumas Co., CA
The West Coast kayak fishing community was mourning the loss of angler Ryon Mora, 38, who died on the morning of 17 May while fishing a tournament on Northern California’s Lake Almanor.
The tournament trail’s sponsor, Bass Angler Magazine (BAM), canceled the event immediately after Mora’s death, which the sponsor confirmed the following day.
Mora’s cause of death remained under investigation and the circumstances surrounding the incident were unclear, but it reportedly occurred during the first hour of the one-day tourney. According to an information page for the tournament, competitors started at 5:50 a.m. when there was enough light for safe fishing.
Tournament Staff Received ‘Urgent Call’ of Unmanned Kayak
“The day began like any other tournament morning, under cloudy skies and a light 3-4 mph breeze. At 6:37 a.m., BAM Tournament Director Michael Bray received an urgent call reporting an unmanned kayak on the lake,” BAM explained in an article. “BAM staff, including CEO Mark Lassagne, immediately responded to the GPS location provided and located Ryon Mora in the water at 6:42 a.m.”
Lassagne told reporters that he was in the media boat with Bray when the tournament director received the call. They ran to the GPS location as quickly as they could and found Mora floating face-down in the water, roughly 100 yards from shore.
A middle-aged man remained missing on 12 May following a weekend boating accident on the Delaware River, which was running high and fast after a rainstorm on the night of 9 May.
The boat in which the man and two others were riding capsized midstream on the morning of 10 May near the Route 29 tunnel in New Jersey, said Fire Chief John Weiss III of Morrisville, Pennsylvania.
The borough’s Marine 98 rescue unit received a call at 10:23 a.m. and launched a boat to the capsized boat to which a man was clinging. He was rescued and taken to the Trenton Marina. Another man had swum to shore on the Pennsylvania side.
‘A Lot of Debris in the Water’: Fire Chief
“He had gotten to the shore south of East Philadelphia Avenue” in Morrisville and walked out of the woods, Weiss said. Both rescued men were examined by medical personnel, Weiss said. But the third person, whom Weiss described as a man in his mid 50s, could not be found. His name had not been released.
“The water was rough. There was a lot of debris in the water,” Weiss said. Rescue personnel from five local fire departments had six boats and two personal watercraft (PWCs) in the water, while the New Jersey State Police and the US Coast Guard also joined in the search both in boats and in the air, and the Croydon Fire Co. had a drone overlooking the river, Weiss said.
Kayaking Family Injured After Hitting Tree Mid-River
5/11/25 – Boise, ID
The kayak outing of a family from Garden Valley, Idaho, on the state’s Payette River ended in a frightening encounter on 11 May, serving as a stark reminder that Idaho's waterways remain hazardous despite approaching summer temperatures.
"It was just a complete disaster," said kayaker Dave Burgess, who navigated the river with his wife and stepdaughter. The family, who recently relocated from Hawaii and consider themselves experienced on the water, had paddled successfully for about a mile before encountering an unexpected obstacle.
"We came around the corner and there's a massive tree," Burgess said. "It immediately rolled me and put me under." Though the Middle Fork of the Payette River is typically known for its shallow, calmer conditions, the family emerged from the incident with minor injuries, a lost phone, and missing keys.
Police Officer Rescues Kayaker Trapped After Capsizing
5/10/25 – Sterling Heights, MI
As the weather warms up, more and more people will head outdoors for fun – particularly on water. In Sterling Heights, Michigan, a police officer was called to save a woman who was stuck on a log dam on the Clinton River.
Sterling Heights Police released dramatic bodycam video that showed the officer jumping into the cold river to save the woman. Police said around 2:30 p.m. on 10 May, officer Nikolas Bruno was called to help a woman in distress.
When he got there, he found the woman holding onto a downed tree in the middle of the river. She wasn't wearing a life jacket and was clearly panicked while calling for help.
Kayaker ‘Barely Hanging On’ Before Rescue
Bruno took his gear off and jumped into the water. He had to navigate over a dam of logs before reaching the woman. A nearby woman offered her own life jacket to help Bruno save the woman. The river temperature was around 60 degrees.
Once on the shore, the woman said she was kayaking for the first time with her daughter and niece when the vessel got caught on a downed tree in the river and capsized. She said she had hit her head and was barely hanging on before Bruno saved her life.
Coast Guard Suspends Search for Missing Kayaker
5/14/25 – Seattle, WA
The Coast Guard suspended its search for a missing kayaker near Dungeness Spit, Washington, on 14 May.
Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound received a 911 call relay from Clallam Country dispatch approximately 4:30 p.m., from an individual requesting help before the call dropped. Attempts to regain contact with the individual were unsuccessful.
The NOAA research vessel Rachel Carson, the tugboat Glen Cove responded to the Coast Guard’s urgent marine information broadcast and a Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from Air Station Port Angeles, a 45-foot response boat medium from Station Port Angeles and the crew of the 87-foot Coast Guard Cutter Sea Lion were directed to the location of the distress.
Responders located an overturned kayak and paddle after arriving at the scene but no signs of the individual.
“This is a tragic event and suspending a search without finding the individual you are searching for is one of the hardest decisions to make,” said Coast Guard Capt. Michael Hunt, deputy commander of Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound. “Our thoughts are with the missing individual’s family during this difficult time.”
Two Hospitalized After Boat Capsizes on Maine Lake
5/13/25 – Orland, ME
Two men were taken to hospital on the evening of 13 May after their boat capsized on Maine’s Alamoosook Lake, according to the Orland Fire Department.
Firefighters were dispatched just after 5:30 p.m. to the area of Beechwood Lane for two people who had gone into the water and had made it to shore after their boat capsized. Orland fire personnel responded, and Bucksport EMS assisted.
Firefighters hiked along the shoreline to reach the individuals, who were found to be wet and very cold, and helped them to an ambulance for medical care. Both men were taken to hospital.
The fire department's boat crew recovered the overturned vessel and towed it to a landing for later retrieval. The Maine Warden Service assisted at the scene and coordinated incident details with emergency crews.
Emergency Crews Respond to Fire on Louisiana’s False River
5/19/25 – Pointe Coupee, LA
Heavy smoke was seen billowing from a burning pier on Louisiana’s False River on the afternoon of 19 May.
The Sheriff’s Office in Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana, reported that the 10,000 block of Island Road had been shut down while emergency crews responded to the fire.
A boat was also spotted burning on the river with flames and smoke reaching into the air.
Student Dies While Hanging Out on Orlando Lake
5/14/25 – Orange Co., FL
The body of a teenager was recovered on the afternoon of 15 May after he went missing in a lake while kayaking with a group the day before.
Public Schools Superintendent Maria Vazquez of Orange County, Florida, confirmed that the teenager was a student at Lake Nona High School. “I am heartbroken by the loss of one of our Lake Nona High School students who tragically died off campus Wednesday evening. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends during this difficult time," Vazquez said in a statement.
The Orlando Police Department (OPD) said six teens were using kayaks and paddleboards on Lake Whippoorwill when one of them went underwater and did not resurface. "Despite an extensive search effort, the individual was not immediately located," OPD said Thursday afternoon.
The teen's body was found at approximately 12:20 p.m. by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office dive team, OPD said. It was unclear what had led to the teen's death, and police had not confirmed a drowning.
"Everyone was trying to look for him, there were two helicopters, drones and a diver team came in," Renaud Adorno, a resident who was observing the search, told local reporters.
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