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Accident Case Index
Many of the 23 case histories on our web site are attached to one of the Five Golden Rules. Others appear under a Rule and also under special subject headings like "Wind Shadows" so that you can search for them by category. Others can be found in the Cold Water Articles resource section In addition to Lessons Learned, each case highlights major contributing factors - things that we see again and again in our analysis of close calls and fatalities.
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Rule 1 / Case 1
Always Wear Your PFD (Lifejacket) Sheldon Olsen and Jace Olsen March 17th, 2012 – Lake Limerick, Washington The warm sun came out on...
Rule 1 / Case 2
Always Wear Your PFD (Lifejacket) Michael Francis and Randy Francis July 6th 2012 - Matanuska Lake, Alaska It was a pretty Friday...
Rule 1 / Case 3
Always Wear Your PFD (Lifejacket) Amy Wagner March 11th, 2012 - Lake St. Claire, Ontario, Canada It was a beautiful day in Lakeside,...
Rule 1 / Case 4
Always Wear Your PFD (Lifejacket) Jim Payne’s Desperate Swim in Freezing Water February 10th, 2012 - Lake Pend Oreille, Idaho Jim Payne...
Rule 1 / Case 5
Always Wear Your PFD (Lifejacket) Michael Anthony Williams and Michael Paul McHaffie March 28th, 2010 - Lake Springfield, Missouri On a...
Rule 1 / Case 6
Always Wear Your PFD (Lifejacket) Brian Keese and Nathan Keese March 27th, 2010 - Stockton Lake, Missouri It was a warm spring day, but...
Rule 1 / Case 7
Always Wear Your PFD (Lifejacket) Maeve Kennedy Townsend McKean, Gideon McKane April 2nd, 2020 - Shady Side, Chesapeake Bay, MD Maeve Kennedy Townsend McKean and her 8-year-old son, Gideon Overview Maeve Kennedy Townsend McKean and her 8-year-old son, Gideon, drowned when their canoe capsized in 51F water on Chesapeake Bay several miles south of Annapolis, MD. According to family members and authorities, McKean and her son were playing kickball behind her mother's house in Sh
Rule 1 / Case 8
Always Wear Your PFD (Lifejacket) Unidentified 19-year-old Tillamook woman May 3rd, 2020 - Netarts Bay, Tillamook County, Oregon The...
Rule 2 / Case 1
Always Dress For The Water Temperature Irina McEntee and Carissa Ireland May 16th, 2010 - Casco Bay, Maine The water was calm and the...
Rule 2 / Case 2
Always Dress For The Water Temperature Michael and Daniel Madders August 23, 2009 - Loch Maree, Scotland Dr Michael Madders, 52, a...
Rule 2 / Case 3
Always Dress For The Water Temperature Kevin Dammen June 7th, 2011 Little Sand Bay, Apostle Islands Area, Lake Superior On the afternoon...
Rule 2 / Case 4
Always Dress For The Water Temperature Fengquan Guan May 9th, 2010 - Milford, Connecticut While on an annual visit with friends in...
Rule 2 / Case 5
Always Dress For The Water Temperature Mark J. Tamkus March 17th, 2011 - Millsite Lake, Redwood, New York Mark J. Tamkus, 62, of 42607...
Rule 2 / Case 6
Always Dress For The Water Temperature David Arthur Dickerson April 21st, 2012 - Omena Bay, Lake Michigan Dave Dickerson on the Sand River, Ontario, Canada Family members said that Dave Dickerson, 43, loved being out on the water and usually paddled his canoe for an hour every evening on Omena Bay, starting around 6 p.m. From all accounts he appears to have been a lovely, kind, generous, and thoughtful man who was well-respected in his community. According to the information
Rule 2 / Case 7
Always Dress For The Water Temperature Nine U.S. Marines March 6th, 1968, Potomac River, Quantico, Virginia It was 4 p.m. on a...
Rule 2 / Case 8
Always Dress For The Water Temperature Randy Morgart February 19th, 2010 Mississippi River, Missouri Note: This Case History consists...
Rule 2 / Case 9
Always Dress For The Water Temperature Brigitte Manspeaker March 21, 2026 - Tomalas Bay, CA The Accident Just after 6pm on Saturday, March 21, someone on shore called 911 and reported a capsized kayak with two people in the water. The location appears to have been close to Kilkenny Beach. Multiple rescue units responded from the Marin and Sonoma County Sheriff's Offices, Marin County Fire, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the National Park Service. Accident Location on Tomalas Bay
Rule 3 /Case 1
Field-Test Your Gear A Chilling Experience for Greg Martin May, 1987 - Sand Island, Apostle Islands Area, Lake Superior This classic...
Rule 3 / Case 2
Field Test Your Gear Hamilton Wood, February 28th, 2009 Isles of Shoals, Atlantic Ocean, 6 Miles East of ME / NH Coast White Island Lighthouse on a moderately rough day. Hamilton Wood, 59, launched his kayak from New Hampshire's Odiorne Point State Park around noon on Saturday, February 28th. His destination was the Isles of Shoals, nine rocky isles located in the Atlantic Ocean, roughly six miles off the New Hampshire/ Maine coast. He was paddling alone (solo), wearing a wet
Rule 4 / Case 1
Swim Test Your Gear Every Time You Go Out Ian William Walsh - A Small Mistake Proves Fatal January 15th, 2011 - Ogwen River, Wales, UK...
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