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KOA kept directing campers to Flume after swimmer died there

I stayed at the KOA campground in Wilmington on July 7 and 8. On its campground map, it shows trail access to the AuSable River and the Flume. The trail branches off the campground near the river. I and my family walked this trail on July 8 and saw that the river was high. We thought this river height was normal for the Flume area. While on the trail, we ran into several families returning with small children.

As we stood by the river, we noticed five high school students jumping off a high rock ledge across the river. A small bridge connected the campground to the ledge. They repeatably, and with some effort, swam back to the ledge and climbed up. There was also a fly fisherman on that side of the river.

My friend mentioned that as soon as her son arrived (he would join us the next day), he might want to jump off the ledge. The KOA map did warn that the trail down to the Flume was not an easy climb.

However, when I stopped at a local Eastern Mountain Sports store, I asked their clerk why a cafe on the AuSable River had not allowed us on its bridge over the river behind their premises. He said this was due to the local flash flood warning and storms; that the cafe was making the “right call.” He asked where we were staying, and I mentioned the KOA campground in Wilmington. He warned us to stay away from the river as there had been a death at that very site earlier in the week. Under no circumstances was my nephew to jump into the river.

When I got back to the campground, the adjacent campers told us more. A 31-year-old camper had jumped off the ledge into the river. He had gotten sucked into the water and drowned. It took a day to recover the body.

A few days later, I called a New York environmental agency to ask why it had not encouraged this campground to put up a caution sign — especially since there had been previous deaths at this site. They said that they cannot control what a private campground chooses to do. I also asked why New York authorities hadn’t put up a sign on the tree over the jump-off ledge, warning swimmers.

I checked the news, and although the death of the young man was reported at various media sites, with pics of the yellow police tape, there had been no mention of where he and his family had been camping. In my opinion, the KOA campground should, at the very least, have disclosed the danger of the river and the local flash flood warning, and discouraged visitors from jumping off the ledge. Why hadn’t this campground warned its existing campers about the flash flood warning or warned them away from using this trail at this time: a rope, a simple sign or even a warning sign to the bridge?

Kudos to Eastern Mountain Sports’ staff for their honesty and transparency.

Nell Williams lives in Rockport, Massachusetts.

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