Rafter Drowns In Cataract Canyon

Michael Don Carlos, 37, of Nederland, Colorado, was thrown from a raft and into Big Drop Two, a dangerous rapid, while passing through Cataract Canyon on a rafting trip on the afternoon of May 16th. He was able to hold onto the raft at first, but let go for unknown reasons. Without the raft’s high flotation, he was pulled under the surface of the violent rapids and drowned. His body was recovered by a park concessioner and brought downriver, then transferred to the state medical examiner’s office.