Oklahoma man dies in rafting accident

A 48-year-old Oklahoma man has died in a rafting accident on the Arkansas River in Fremont County.

The Pueblo Chieftain reports that Van Hodges of Enid, Oklahoma, died Tuesday in the accident near the Salt Lick recreation area.

Hodges was with two of his three children and his wife in a commercial raft when the boat flipped in a rapid.

All but one of the passengers got out of the water right away on their own or with the help of safety kayakers accompanying the trip. A kayaker got Hodges to the river bank, but he could not be revived.

The river was running at 3,400 cubic feet per second through the Big Horn Sheep Canyon Tuesday, down from 4,500 cubic feet per second last week.