Rafting Guide Arrested for Rescuing Girl T

A rafting guide in Colorado was arrested after swimming across a raging creek to aid one of his young customers who had taken a swim and become stranded. He was charged with obstructing government operations, according to the local sheriff.

“He was told not to go in the water, and he jumped in and swam over to the victim and jeopardized the rescue operation,” said Krueger, noting that his office was deciding whether to file similar charges against another guide who was at the scene just downstream of Kermitts Roadhouse on U.S. 6.

Duke Bradford, owner of Arkansas Valley Adventures, said Snodgrass did the right thing by contacting the 13-year-old Texas girl immediately and not waiting for the county’s search and rescue team to assemble ropes, rafts and rescuers.

“When you have someone in sight who has taken a long swim, you need to make contact immediately,” said Bradford, a 15-year rafting guide and ski patroller from Summit County. “This is just silly. Ryan Snodgrass acted entirely appropriately.

So he jeopardized the rescue operation by rescuing the girl before the sheriff could? Knowing absolutely nothing about what actually happened, I’ll go ahead and make a snap judgment - I’d bet that some big egos were getting roughed up on both sides of the rescue operation. Either that or river guides and small town sheriffs are just natural enemies.