Man dies after falling from paddleboard into cold water in Colorado
FILE – A paddleboarder came across a sunfish basking in the sun off the coast of Laguna Beach, Calif. Sunfish typically live 60 to 120 miles offshore and hunt in depths with very cold water. They come to the surface to float motionless and raise their body temperature with the sun.
WOODLAND PARK, Colorado. – The body of a stand-up paddleboarder was recovered from a reservoir near Colorado Springs, Colorado, after the man disappeared during a storm Saturday afternoon, according to officials.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) water rescue teams recovered the body early Sunday from Rampart Reservoir west of Colorado Springs.
According to a CPW press release, the Colorado Springs Fire Department (CSFD) responded to the first call for help at the reservoir when witnesses reported a man had fallen in and disappeared. A dog, who was also on the paddleboard, was initially able to stay on the board before later swimming to shore in water temperatures of 16 degrees.
CSFD personnel immediately began a search using a helicopter before calling CPW’s Marine Evidence Recovery Team, which deployed a special CPW boat equipped with multiple sonar devices, including a submersible and a remotely operated vehicle equipped with sonar, lights and a video camera.
At around 1 a.m. local time, a sonar located the victim in a water depth of about 20 meters. CPW rangers used their remote-controlled vehicle to recover the body.
The body of a stand-up paddleboarder was recovered from Rampart Reservoir near Colorado Springs, Colorado, after the man disappeared during a storm on Saturday, August 24, 2024, according to authorities.
(Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW))
HIKER WAS TRAFFICKED DURING A STORM SURGE IN GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK
“This is a tragedy and we extend our condolences to the victim’s family and friends,” said Grant Brown, CPW’s boating safety program manager. “When someone is submerged in water this cold, the shock of being immersed in the cold water can cause the whole body to convulse and make you unable to swim. You can die within a minute or two.”
Including this weekend’s incident, there were more than 30 cases of recreational drownings in Colorado in 2024, according to an unofficial count by CPW.
“We have seen far too many water-related deaths in Colorado,” Brown said. “We urge everyone on or near the water to wear a life jacket.”
According to CPW, Rampart is a 500-acre reservoir owned by Colorado Springs Utilities in the U.S. Forest Service’s Pike National Forest, about 5 miles east of Woodland Park in far western El Paso County. The reservoir features a 230-foot-high dam with unique underwater rock formations.
