Team rescues man on South Fork

A man was safely recovered from the South Fork of the Boise River following a rafting accident between Prairie and Neal Bridge on May 31.

Bradley Chatlin, 48, was floating with a friend down the river when they ran into the rapids where Buffalo Creek and the South Fork meet.

Chatlin was thrown from the raft and drifted a mile downstream. According to Lt. Bobby Wade from the Elmore County Sheriff's Department, he struck an object in the water, which broke a bone in his left leg.

He was able to pull himself out of the water with his friend meeting him and calling for help. Members of the Elmore County search and rescue team and sheriff's deputies responded and launched a rescue raft down river from Danskin bridge.

Meanwhile, an Air St. Luke's helicopter was able to drop a backpack with a radio and basic essentials to both individuals until rescuers were able to arrive. Aside from the injuries to his leg, Chatlin told them he had no additional injuries.

The search and rescue team's raft arrived shortly afterward and rendered first aid to stabilize his condition. They then continued down river another two miles to Neal Bridge where he was transported by ambulance to a landing zone to a waiting helicopter which flew him to St. Luke's Regional Medical Center in Boise for treatment.