Divers Recover Hunters Essentials

Boise (AP) Divers today recovered from the Boise River articles lost in a boating accident. Local area hunters were floating down the Boise River when they struck a submerged railroad piling and capsized.

One of the hunters was thrown from the boat and floated down the river. The other hunter was able to assist the hunting dog get out of the boat and headed toward the shore. The contents of the boat were dumped into the river as the boat hit the submerged pilings, turned, and capsized.

The hunters hired a local Boise dive store help recover the lost articles. The local dive store (Boise Water Sports) contracted with Omni Divers Underwater Services to conduct the search and recovery.

Omni Divers Underwater Services primary diver Phil Graf was able to recover a shotgun, boat and motor lost at the scene of the boating accident. He said that because the water was cold (39 degrees) and the water was fairly swift in a confined river bed the recovery was dificult. Visibility varied from several feet to zero visibility at times. The depth of the water varied from four to eight feet. Staying in one place was very difficult. We used a rope tied off to the bridge above the scene. The two hunters assisted with belaying out the rope while the diver searched back and forth across the river channel.

Omni Divers Underwater Services stand-by diver and diving supervisor Dan Meredith said that these searches take time and we were extremely fortunate to have found what we did. In other circumstances we may have been looking for drown hunter.