DINOSAUR I The Moffat County Coroner’s office released the name of a 34-year-old man from Denver who perished in a weekend rafting accident on the Green River in Dinosaur National Monument.
The body of Richard Francis Zinter was recovered by search and rescue staff from Dinosaur National Monument, Moffat County Sheriff’s Office and Colorado Parks and Wildlife near Triplet Falls on the Green River in Dinosaur National Monument at approximately 12:30 p.m. on Monday.
Based on interviews with other members of the group of rafters Zinter was traveling with, Zinter and three others were passengers in a raft that flipped in a section of Triplet Falls on the Green River after hitting a rock. All four rafters were dumped into the river. Three of the rafters were able to swim to shore. Zinter was briefly spotted in the water before he disappeared. Members of the group reported that he appeared to be stuck.
The group searched for Zinter for approximately two hours, then continued downstream on their rafts to seek assistance. They stopped for the night at Rippling Brook campsite as it was getting dark.
On Sunday, the rafting group arrived at the Monument’s Echo Park Ranger Station at approximately 11:15 a.m., and notified a ranger of the incident. Monument staff immediately contacted Moffat County Sheriff’s Office and Colorado Parks and Wildlife to assemble a response team.
After conducting water-based search and recovery efforts, the inter-agency response team under Unified Command located, recovered and transported Zinter’s body to Echo Park by raft. The Moffat County Coroner’s Office soon after began their investigation into the accident and released Zinter’s name after working with and notifying his family.
