Mary and Scott Mantooth, owners of Sunburst Adventures rafting company, speak about the circumstances around, and unfortunate loss of one of their customers this past Sunday while rafting on the Ocoee River. This was the first fatality the rafting company has had since being founded in 1976 in Polk County, Tenn.VIDEO
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A guide with Rolling Thunder is tossed out of his raft while running a rapid on the Ocoee River named “Grumpy’s” where two women died this past weekend. The first woman, Marnita McGruder, 52, from Rex, Ga., died Saturday and the second woman, Katherine Tyler Luna, 37, from Smyrna, Tenn., died in a separate incident on Sunday. According to information from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, both women were tossed from their rafts after encountering steep drops on the rapid which stretches about 100 yards below the dam.More than 100 rafters were waiting on the shore for their chance on the river when Marnita McGruder fell out of her raft and died on the Ocoee River on Saturday.
The guides knew what was happening. The guests didn’t.
Just yards away on the ramp, Noah Perdue, a guide, tried to distract his guests as he waited to take them out, and he watched the rescue attempt. No one panicked.
“It was more like helplessness, because you’re just watching people,” he said. “There’s nothing anyone can do. If you put in, you’re putting yourself at risk.”