Las Vegas man drowns in weekend kayak trip on Warm River

ASHTON — A Las Vegas man is dead after drowning in Warm River near Ashton over the weekend.

It happened Saturday around 1:40 p.m., according to Fremont County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Bart Quayle.

Quayle tells EastIdahoNews.com an older man, whom they’ve identified as 68-year-old Bruce Heinz, and his wife were floating the river on kayaks, when some sort of incident occurred.

No one saw what happened, so authorities don’t have any information about how Heinz drowned. Quayle did say neither of the kayakers were wearing life jackets.

Several good Samaritans who were recreating on the river found his body and pulled it to shore, Quayle says. They administered CPR until paramedics arrived.

Heinz never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead a short time later.

Quayle expresses his condolences to the Heinz family. He and other emergency responders are reminding the general public to be safe while recreating in Fremont County.

“Fremont County is a great place to recreate, but we encourage the use of flags, helmets and general safety, whether it’s on the sand, the water or on the highway,” Quayle says.

Quayle is grateful to everyone involved in the response, including the sheriff’s office, Fremont County Emergency Management, Fire Marshal Keith Richey and EMS.