Chattahoochee River Safety Becomes Top Concern After Numerous Deaths
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A group of whitewater rafters make their way down the Chattahoochee near 13th Street in Columbus. (photo by: Alton Mitchell)
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The latest death came on June 30, 2019, when 6-year-old Jeremiah Henderson fell off of an area of rocks near the Riverwalk Island and drowned in the river. His body was located two days later nearly 7-miles downstream. The death of Henderson sparked a reaction from the community and community leaders about safety on the Chattahoochee in Columbus and Phenix City.
Jeremiah's death brought numerous residents to the riverfront and the donation of numerous lifejackets for public use along the river in efforts to keep another tragedy from occurring on the river in Columbus. In addition to the action from residents concern has also begun to grow in online platforms. Columbus public safety officials are also exploring what they can do to keep the river safer and keep residents and visitors from getting to close to the waters.
So far in 2019, there have been three deaths along the Chattahoochee River in the Columbus Phenix City area. Two were the result of incidents that happened near the shoreline and one was the result of an overturned boat in the river. The first of the 2019 deaths came on May 26, 2019, when 65-year-old Ronald Cyr, of Columbus, was fishing in the river near Dillingham Street. While fishing his boat overturned putting the fisherman into the waters of the Chattahoochee. By the time rescue personnel from Columbus Fire and Rescue had arrived Mr. Cyr was deceased.
Signs like these line parts of the Chattahoochee River to alert visitors to the dangers of the river.
The second drowning came weeks later when 29-year-old Quainelle Willis disappeared in the water from the Phenix City side of the river. Rescuers arrived and pulled the lifeless body of Willis from the water near the location he disappeared on June 22. Willis was in the water about 45 minutes before rescuers were able to locate and retrieve his body. The drowning of Jeremiah Henderson of Dothan, Alabama occurred just days later on June 30, 2019, when the child disappeared in the waters of the river near Uptown Columbus.
The three drownings in the river are only two deaths shy of reaching the total number of deaths in the Chattahoochee last year. In 2018, there were a total of five people who died in the river. In one incident, Alvin Lino, a 46-year-old Analyst from Mableton, Ga died of complications from a medical issue while on a whitewater rafting trip on the river.
The drownings in 2018, also included another heartbreaking loss of a child. On March 28, 2018, James Rabon and his four-year-old son Beau Rabon were fishing about 250-yards south of the Lake Oliver Dam when Beau fell in the river. His father James Rabon dove in the waters near the Bibb Pond area of the river in an attempt to save his son, but neither of the two ever resurfaced. After a nine-day search, the bodies of both father and son were pulled from the river.
The waters of the Chattahoochee near the Riverwalk Island hold many dangers not visible to the eye
The Rabon's were in an area of the river that is not along the whitewater course and is often seen as one of the calmer sections of the river. The area where the father and son died was a similar location to where a 52-year-old fisherman lost his life in a tragic drowning one year earlier. On June 29, 2017, Mangold Folis-Perez, 52, of Columbus was fishing in the Bibb Pond area of the river.
Folis-Perez dove into the water for a quick swim and never resurfaced. Emergency crews arrived at the river and were able to locate the deceased body of Folis Perez.
Since the recent death of Jeremiah Henderson, there has been a great deal of debate on social media about what to do about the river and safety. Some have put ideas in place such as close the river off to people or put up fencing along the rocky areas of the river. The ideas have received mix reviews.
Columbus Fire & EMS officials rescue a man stranded on the rocks of the river of May 5, 2019.
The Columbus Riverfront is a key tourist destination and recreational area to the Columbus and Phenix City area. The whitewater course, zipline, and riverwalk are among the top destinations in west Georgia and east Alabama. Those factors make it seem a far distant factor that the river would close to resident and visitor use.
Some of the deaths on the Chattahoochee River have been of people visiting the area such as the death of Thomas Odom. The 25-year-old Odom was visiting Columbus from Warner Robins, Georgia in June of 2017. Odom was snorkeling near the river's edge on the Phenix City side near the 13th Street Bridge when he fell in the waters on June 7, 2017. Emergency crews arrived and searched the river for Odom. His body was located days later near Rotary Park in South Columbus. A memorial was visible last week under the 13th Street Bridge in memory of where Odom fell into the river at.
A memorial sits in the river near the location where Thomas Odom disappeared in the Chattahoochee River.
Also in 2017, Michael Ferreira-Astiazu was visiting the riverfront in Columbus when he slipped off the rocks and fell into the river. Ferreira-Astiazu was a soldier in the United States Army stationed at Fort Benning. After a 2-day search rescuers were able to find the body of Ferreira-Astiazu near the Columbus Convention and Trade Center about a mile downstream.
Since 2017 there have been a total of 11 people who have lost their lives in the Chattahoochee in the Columbus-Phenix City area. In addition, first responders have rescued countless people who have become stranded on the rocks when Georgia Power releases water from dams upstream.
Many have cited the lack of respect for the river as the reason behind the drownings and river rescues on the Chattahoochee. The Chattahoochee often seems calm, especially when the dams are closed and the river recedes to a small stream of water with numerous sandbars and rocks emerging. The river, however, rises quickly as millions of gallons of water flow downstream at a rapid pace when dams up stream are opened by Georgia Power. The rocks that emerge during low flow become submerged and create a dangerous current in the river.
Columbus officials have taken numerous steps to attempt to keep the river as a safe place while still allow residents and visitors to embrace the river and its numerous activities. These have included an ordinance that requires those in the river to have on a personal floatation device in areas south of the North Highland Dam. Those who do not can be cited. The cost of the citation was recently increased from $25 to $200 for those in the waters without a life jacket.
Rapids flow past the Riverwalk Island of the Chattahoochee River in Columbus.
On the 4th of July as thousands turned out for the 4th of July celebration there was a strong showing of law enforcement along the river including several officers stationed on the Riverwalk Island keeping an eye out for those getting to close to the water's edge. Numerous signs exist on both sides of the river warning of the dangers of the river from rising waters to slippery rocks.
The Chattahoochee River is a great and powerful asset to the Chattahoochee Valley. The swift-moving waters of the river at the base of the Fall Line created the perfect location for the manufacturing industry to develop in Columbus. As times have changed and the mills closed the river now is the perfect recreational tool for those in the area. It creates a blend of nature and urban combined into one of the most dynamic areas of the Chattahoochee Valley.
The river which has been an asset to the community is something that future generations will enjoy as well and as of now, Columbus and Phenix City leaders are faced with the task of figuring out how to keep people safe in the river.