On June 23 a 50-year-old female resident of Calgary was part of a group of people rafting down the Kicking Horse River, guided by a Golden rafting company.
The BC Coroners Service has confirmed the identity of the woman as Mary Patricia Thibault. She was one of a party of about 40 customers.
They entered the Kicking Horse River in five boats, each carrying eight clients and one guide.
They made one run of the Upper Canyon, “portage shotgun,” without incident and tried a second run, when one of the rafts capsized at about 3 p.m.
All rafters were wearing flotation devices, helmets, and wetsuits, however the deceased was immediately noted to be floating face up, unresponsive.
The rafters in the other boats immediately rescued all of the people from the capsized raft, including the deceased.
Artificial Respiration and CPR was performed on her as she was in respiratory arrest and had no pulse.
The BC Ambulance Service were contacted, responded, and activated the Provincial Emergency Program. The deceased was evacuated by helicopter to the Golden Hospital where she was pronounced dead on arrival.
The Golden/Field RCMP and the BC Coroners Service are conducting an investigation into the incident.
