River claims Laramie man

Tony Seahorn knew it was a dangerous situation he was putting himself into, when he made the decision to help the stranded rafters.

“I couldn’t have gone past them, not with my military training. We were taught ‘leave no man behind’,” Seahorn said. “I could not have lived with myself if I had not tried to save him.”

Stephen Kaisler, a 70-year-old man from Laramie, was trapped in a log jam lodged up against the island. His family and friends were crying for help, Seahorn said.

Seahorn, who was guiding Vietnam veteran Keith Bausserman on the river, knew he had to take care of the passenger who was on his boat, and the people who were crying for help. Bausserman suffers from multiple sclerosis, and would not be able to help in the rescue effort. Bausserman was also not experienced on the river. Seahorn said he knew he had to make sure Bausserman was safe too. Seahorn pulled his drift boat into a small eddie.

Seahorn, an experienced Wounded Warrior Event guide and a decorated Vietnam War veteran, made every effort to help the trapped rafter, but the force of the water was overpowering.

Seahorn said he had only seconds to assess the situation as he was guiding last Thursday on the North Platte River.

Bob Smith, another experienced guide who was also part of the Wounded Warrior Event, was downstream of Seahorn’s boat. Seahorn heard Smith shouting to someone, but could not see what was happening until he came around the bend.

Smith was telling the floaters “You’ve got to pull away, you’ve got to pull away.”

Smith then yelled to Seahorn, “Raft overturned, occupants in the river, one didn’t come out.”

Seahorn knows the Platte River well, and he knew they were in the most dangerous part of the Platte between Treasurer Island and the hot pool public access. An island sits between the river and Cottonwood Creek, and the current pushes right into the island, according the Seahorn. Large ripples were pushing up into a log jam caught on the island. Seahorn said it is a crucial area and rowers need to make a decision early to go to the left or right at that point in the river, or be pulled in by the current.

Smith, who had two military veterans with him, rowed his boat to the east side of the river, called for a search and rescue team and ensured his passengers were out of harm’s way.

Seahorn said he first ran to the three rafters who were hanging along the shore in the swift water, and then he ran with the oarsman to where Kaisler was located. “Most of the raft was submerged under the massive log sweep,” Seahorn said. “With the full river current, it was not allowing any movement of the victim or the raft.”

Seahorn got into the water where he could grab a hold of Kaisler and try to lift him out of the log jam. At one point, Seahorn was up to his chest in water, and the current was so strong it kept sweeping him off his feet. There were times that Seahorn felt he may become ahis feet. There were times that Seahorn felt he may become a casualty himself.

Both men grabbed Kaisler’s wrists and pulled. Kaisler’s face was only partially above water, Seahorn said.

Seahorn used his knife to puncture the raft bladder to relieve the pressure of the river pushing against the raft.

“We were able to grab both wrists and turn him slightly to try and get his head and shoulders above water,” Seahorn said. The pressure was too great and the current eventually pulled his body and the raft beneath the log jam and out of reach.

Seahorn said when he grabbed Kaisler’s wrist the second time, he felt the life leave Kaisler’s body. He still was desperately trying to retrieve the body as the family and friends cried for help.

The Rescue Team

Brad Cary, with the Saratoga Search and Rescue team, had rowed his rescue raft to the site as Kaisler slipped out of Seahorn’s hands.

“I was still in recovery mode,” Seahorn said, as Cary approached the scene. “The wife was crying for us to retrieve the body and I was trying to see if there was anything else I can do.”

Cary told Seahorn, “Tony, you have done everything you can. We need to do our work. If you would take the survivors in your boat across the river, we have an ambulance coming across the Kelley Land and Cattle hay meadow. If you get them across, they will be out of the way and they need to be checked for hypothermia.”

Seahorn said the survivors had lost their shoes and were soaking wet.

“(Brad) basically relieved me and said ‘you need to get them across if you would please and get your vets on down the river,’” Seahorn said.

“He helped me a lot, because number one he said ‘Tony, I am relieving you from your mission, you have done all you can.’ When he asked me to shuttle the people across they were afraid of the water; they were afraid to get back in the river,” Seahorn recounted.

“(Brad) says, ‘Tony is veteran, he is one of our local heroes, he’s been guiding or rowing on this river for 40 or 50 years.’ I thought ‘I didn’t know Brad knew this much about me,’” Seahorn said.

Cary told the survivors “I guarantee Tony will get you across the river.” Seahorn said he didn’t have extra life jackets for the survivors and theirs had been lost with the raft.

“Brad was so reassuring to them and did such a good job of saying ‘Let me tell you about Tony so that you know he can take you across safely’,” Seahorn said. “Those types of reassurances are very important in a situation like this.”

Cary had two other search and rescue team members with him on the raft; Bo Alameda and Bub Barkhurst. Melanie Fullman, Chuck McVey and Randy Sikes also responded with the search and rescue team.

As Seahorn approached the bank, he saw a four-by-four vehicle approach. He saw his neighbor, Jason Theisefield, and Matt Roberts with a chainsaw. Both men are on the search and rescue team. Once he dropped off the survivors, he took the search and rescue team members back across the river. The river was so treacherous he had to row downstream around 400 yards from the rescue site to drop off the rescue team. The search and rescue team walked up to the accident site to see if they could recover the raft and Kaisler’s body.

The log jam was extremely extensive and complex, Seahorn said. “I think they would have had to cut 15 logs to try and figure out where they were.”

Seahorn estimated that the depth of the river was more than 10 feet. Kaisler’s body was pulled down by the current past the log jam, which Seahorn thought was down six feet or more. Kaisler’s body was recovered downstream by a group of Wyoming Army National Guard who were floating the river.

The National Guard

Members of the National Guard, who earlier in the month had worked sandbagging the area during major flood stage, had come to Saratoga Thursday to float the river. They were downstream from the accident when they saw the body. Sandy Streeter, a Wounded Warrior Event volunteer, witnessed the National Guard team and said she was very impressed with the great care in which they had taken when retrieving Kaisler’s body.

Steeter advised the National Guard team where to dock and called Randy Sikes to lead him to the recovery site.

Streeter had just left the station 15 where she had rendezvoused with members of the Wound Warrior Event. Streeter was part of the support team that provided drinks and food as the floaters stopped to rest.

Streeter said she was flagged down by the National Guard and stopped to see if they needed help. She soon discovered through conversation they had found Kaisler’s body. As she walked toward the shoreline, she could see the blinking lights of the ambulance, the fire department’s search and rescue suburban. They identified themselves as National Guard.

Sandy explained to the National Guard they would not be able to dock near the ambulance. “They can’t get to you from there,” she told them. You need to come to this side (of the river).”

Streeter walked up to a big grassy spot and witnessed the treatment of Kaisler’s body. “She was so kind, reverent and gentle,” Streeter said of the way a female National Guard member treated Kaisler’s body as they rowed across the river.

At first, Streeter thought the National Guard had been called out on the recovery effort. They told her they were on days off and were floating the river.

The National Guard members had already contacted the sheriff’s office, and when the ambulance had not arrived, Streeter called Sike’s to advise him of the recovery location. She met them at Shay Bridge to told them where the National Guard was with the body.

Seahorn’s wife, Janet, also was at the recovery site.

Janet said it was so important to the female National Guard member to know Kaisler’s name. “I thought, ‘she wanted his wife to know (her husband was in good hands),’” Janet said.

Dr. Dean Bartholomew was also on the Wounded Warrior Event float trip as a guide and medical support.

Bartholomew and Seahorn drove from the picnic site to the recovery site and help move the body from the raft to the shore, Streeter said. Seahorn confirmed this account in his interview.

The Game and Fish

Ryan Kenneda was called out to the rescue site to fill in for Game Warden Biff Burton, who was out on another assignment. Kenneda, who is the Game Warden in Elk Mountain, said he was on standby with the Wooldridge 110 horse power jet boat. “Biff uses the jet boat to check fishing licenses on the river,” Kenneda said. The boat can also be used in search and rescue operations, Kenneda added.

Burton said the boat is also used to check boating compliance, access areas and for wildlife and fishery surveys.

By the time Kenneda was in place to launch the boat, he was told the survivors had been rescued. On Friday, Kenneda and Burton returned to the river to retrieve the raft as evidence in the investigation.

The raft was lodged on the east side of the river upstream from the Old Baldy Club cookout site, and took more than 45 minutes to retrieve. Kenneda said that Game and Fish is often called in for search and rescues on the river, because they do have jurisdiction in the investigation. The Game and Fish then report their findings to the Coast Guard, as Wyoming has adopted the Coast Guard rules. Since Game and Fish is reimbursed by the Coast Guard for the work on the inland waterways, reports of accidents on the river are turned over to Coast Guard.

“This is a tragedy for the family and my heart goes out to them,” Kenneda said. The river is a valuable resource, and fun to float on, but it can also be dangerous, Kenneda said. “It takes a certain amount of skill to navigate,” During snow runoff, the flows of the river change and it is the most dangerous during the spring, Kenneda said. When the river is high, that is when it changes the quickest, Kenneda said. Trees fall over and create hazards and people must use caution.

Just five days into summer, the river was still high and proved that it is still a danger.

The Wounded Warriors

Seahorn said one of the things that Platte Valley Trout Unlimited is trying to do is to make a difference in the lives of the veterans who have a disability, using the river has a healing affect for the veterans, Seahorn said.

“Of all the tragedy we have in war, we are trying to move forward and heal through the wounds of war. Our Wounded Warrior Event is all about that,” Seahorn said. “We are trying to make a difference with those we are hosting. They are struggling with a lot of physical and emotional issues.”

“It also helps those of us who are involved, I think,” Seahorn said. “Whether to heal from our wounds or issues and in some way by giving back, we can continue to move down that road of healing.”

Seahorn knows first-hand what it like to be a wounded veteran of war. His helicopter was shot down in Vietnam and he has dedicated his life to working with wounded warriors. He is the co-founder of the Wounded Warrior Event and participates every year. The program has been in Saratoga for four years.

Many of the veterans have expressed their gratitude each year at the closing dinner on Thursday night.

After the closing dinner Thursday night, the veterans who witnessed the rescue efforts visited with Tony and each other to debrief on what happened earlier that day. Seahorn explained at the briefing, the first thing that went through the veterans’ mind is it was one of the rafts with the Wounded Warrior Event, which included Dr. Dean Bartholomew, Ethan Bartholomew, this reporter and three employees of the Veterans Association – Vickie Richards, Kristi Rubin and Janel Melinkovich.

Whether or not it was a fellow wounded warrior boat has also crossed Seahorn’s mind, but he knew Bartholomew was good on the river and the raft was not the color of Bartholomew’s raft. “The shock went through me at first, oh my God, it’s them and then I realized it’s not the right color.”

The veterans, who did not process the fact the rafts were different colors, were still afraid that it was the support boat that Bartholomew was operating. “That was part of the emotion,” Seahorn said. “Tears were rolling because they were so concerned about Kristi and Janel.”

Rubin and Melinkovich were part of the debriefing, and the veterans told the ladies “We thought it was you.”

“I reassured them. Accidents and tragedies in life can happen. But when we put you in boats with our Wounded Warrior Event you are with the best people available,” Seahorn said. “We are not going to put you in a boat with anybody who is not totally capable.”

Seahorn explained to veterans that all of the guides that day were experienced, and several people volunteer to guide the event, but the organizers hand pick who is guiding the veterans because they want to ensure their safety.

That made them feel better, Seahorn said. “They were thinking it could have been them and it could have, but I wanted to reassure them that we are not going to put them in harm’s way.”

The veterans shared their experiences of losing their best friends in combat and friends dying in their arms. “Some of us can relate to that,” Seahorn said. Vietnam veterans have seen so much death and destruction and this accident really brought out the emotions. “I shared some of my emotions.” The veterans said to Tony, “We hope you are not second guessing what you did today.”

Tony said “I am going to grapple with this for a while, but I know that I did what I could do and reacted the way I thought I would react.”