Fremont County Coroner Randy Keller identified the man who died while rafting in the Lower Bighorn Sheep Canyon section on the Arkansas River on Wednesday.
He said Tommy Thomson, 75, was from The Woodlands, Texas.
Keller said it is not clear if Thomson died from a cardiac event or from drowning. An autopsy is scheduled for Friday.
According to a press release from the Colorado Parks and Wildlife, rangers responded to the call about a river incident involving a commercial rafting trip at 2:41 p.m. Wednesday.
The Lower Bighorn Sheep Canyon section is a Class I-III section of the river within CPW's Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area west of Cañon City.
"A call was received by AHRA rangers for CPR in progress at the Salt Lick Recreation Site on a 75-year-old male," the press release states. "The male victim fell out of the boat near Three Rocks, a Class III rapid. Once the guide was able to pull the unresponsive male back into the boat, they exited the river at the Salt Lick Recreation Site."
Raft guides began performing CPR and later Fremont County Sheriff's deputies and Fremont County EMS arrived on scene. An Automated External Defibrillator, or AED, was deployed, but they were unable to revive him.
Emergency personnel declared the victim deceased and the body was turned over to the Fremont County Coroner for identification and determination of the cause of death.
The Arkansas River was flowing at 1,060 cubic feet per second as recorded at the Parkdale gauge at 3 p.m. The water temperature was recorded at the Salt Lick Recreation Site at 55.5 degrees Fahrenheit. The air temperature was 75 degrees Fahrenheit.
The AHRA is a linear state park following the 152-mile corridor of the Arkansas River from its confluence just below Leadville to Lake Pueblo State Park.
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