MEDFORD, Ore., July 23 (UPI) -- Two men who died in separate incidents while rafting in a rough whitewater river in Oregon were killed by heart attacks, officials say.
Both deaths occurred at Blossom Bar, a difficult stretch of the Rogue River lined by a series of rocks known as the Picket Fence, the Medford Mail Tribune reported Tuesday. The Curry County Sheriff's Department said the stress of hitting the rocks and being thrown into the water probably contributed to the deaths.
Steven D. Hoyer, 57, of Spartanburg, S.C., was on a raft by himself on July 12 when he hit the Picket Fence, investigators said. He had a helmet and life jacket.
Steven Boyd, 66, of Walla Walla, Wash., who was wearing a life jacket, is believed to have hit his head on a rock five days later. His two companions had only minor injuries.
Blossom Bar is described as the most dangerous stretch of the Wild and Scenic section of the Rogue River. The river rises in the Cascade Mountains near Crater Lake and flows for 215 miles to the Pacific.
