2025 Fatality Reports Include Upper Gauley, Harpers Ferry Incidents

Although American Whitewater's Charlie Walbridge indicates that 2025 was a better-than-usual year for avoiding whitewater fatalities, several of the fatalities that did occur were on river runs well known to many CCA boaters.

Charlie's draft summary for July to December listed fatal accidents involving two whitewater kayaks, one commercial raft, and one inflatable kayak. Others involved recreational kayaks (four), tubes (four), and "fishing boats" (two). A final summary will be posted on the AW site. His final summary for January to June, now posted on the AW site, noted 25 fatalities, only two of which involved skilled kayakers and with one of those coming from a fall during a portage.

A "health problem" was at issue in a death on the Upper Gauley Sept. 6, and a heart attack caused a tubing death on the Potomac at Harpers Ferry July 8. The Cruiser previously reported on a Lower Yough fatality June 13.  

The Upper Gauley victim was an expert kayaker, Patrick Miljour, paddling in an expert group of eight. The AW database report describes the group's extensive efforts to save him. The database, meanwhile, identifies the tubing death as having been on the Needles, but details in the report indicate the drowning was near the U.S. 340 bridge over the Potomac (that is, below Whitehorse Rapid).

For More Information:

AW July-December 2025 draft summary

AW January-June 2025 final summary

AW database report on Upper Gauley fatality

AW database report on Harpers Ferry fatality

"Experienced Paddler Drowns on Lower Yough," Cruiser, July-August 2025