Rafter dies on Arkansas River

SALIDA, Colo. ” A Castle Rock man has died after a rafting accident on the Arkansas River in Chaffee County.

Sheriff Tim Walker said 43-year-old Marcus Martin was thrown into the water Monday when the commercial raft he was riding flipped over just north of Salida.

Other rafters tried to pull the man up onto the overturned raft, but could not. A second raft from Wilderness Aware was able to pull Martin from the water and get him to shore.

According to Walker, Martin complained of difficulty breathing before losing consciousness. He was transported to Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center in Salida where he later died.

Martin’s death is the fifth on the Arkansas River this rafting season.