Clear Creek sheriff’s deputies on Thursday arrested a rafting guide for swimming to a stranded young rafter who had tumbled from his boat on Clear Creek.
Ryan Daniel Snodgrass, a 28-year-old guide with Arkansas Valley Adventures rafting company, was charged with “obstructing government operations,” said Clear Creek Sheriff Don Krueger.
“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.
As someone who has rafted numerous times through some of the toughest rapids on the continent, a rafting guide is the right person for the job to save this girl. This is a guy who goes up and down this creek every day and knows it like the back of his hand, unlike rescuers who might train on it once a year. Hopefully the charges will be dropped and the person who decided to arrest Snodgrass will get their pompous ass reamed good.
What this really sounds like is that Snodgrass showed up the local government officials (unofficially) and they didn’t like it, so instead of giving him kudos or a medal, they put him in cuffs.