By KBC Associate :max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(706x528:708x530)/Colorado-River-060525-93fbe352b784463d9299d20c22f71b29.jpg?ssl=1 "Man Found Dead in Colorado River Nearly 1 Year After Raft Capsized")
NEED TO KNOW
- Thomas Russell, 62, vanished after the raft he was on capsized in the Colorado River on June 1, 2024
- Brent Boulter, who was on the raft with Russell at the time of the the accident, was pronounced dead at the scene
- Nearly a year later since the accident, Russell’s body was found in the river near Rancho Del Rio
The body of a man who disappeared in the Colorado River nearly a year ago after a rafting accident has been found.
The Grand County Sheriff’s Office in Colorado confirmed in a Wednesday, June 4, press release that the remains — identified as belonging to Thomas Russell, 62, of Littleton — were discovered in the river near Rancho Del Rio.
Authorities were able to find the victim due to a significant decrease in water levels in the area.
The Eagle County Sheriff’s Office alerted the Grand County’s Sheriff’s Office about the discovery of the body on May 21.
After the identification was made through a forensic dentist, the Grand County Coroner’s Office contacted his next of kin.
The news came nearly one year after the rafting accident took place.
On June 1, 2024, the sheriff’s office said that authorities were alerted about a person who was not breathing in the section of the Colorado River in Gore Canyon. He was pronounced deceased by emergency responders and later identified as Brent Boulter, 56, of Aurora.
“Additionally, there was another male subject [Russell] who was still missing following the accident after the raft capsized,” the sheriff’s office statement read. Emergency responders searched the river and surrounding areas, but were unable to locate him — and a search the following day was also unsuccessful.
Another person who was with Boulter and Russelll was able to get out the river and was accounted for.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Neither Boulter and Russell were wearing a personnel flotation device (PFD), according to preliminary reports, the sheriff’s office noted.
“The area where we specifically were focusing on where the accident happened was called the Yarmony Rapids,” Grand County Sheriff Brett Schroetlin said last year, according to NBC affiliate KUSA.
Schroetlin emphasized the importance of wearing life vests in the water. “That helps you rescue yourself,” the official said. “It also helps us locate you if we can’t be in the right place at the right time.”