GRAND CANYON, Arizona, Feb. 25, 2026 (Gephardt Daily) — Grand Canyon National Park has announced a boater fatality that took place near the Hance Rapids on the Colorado River.
The death happened on Feb. 19, but was announced this week in a National Park news release. It happened at about 11:15 a.m. during a non-commercial river trip, the statement says.
“The Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center subsequently received a report that CPR was in progress on an individual,” the NPS statement says.
“Aaron Benjamin, 30, of Post Falls, Idaho, entered the river at the top of Hance Rapid at Colorado River Mile 77. Members of the group pulled him from the water, found him unresponsive and began CPR.
“Park rangers were flown to the location by park helicopter; all resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful. The National Park Service and the Coconino County Medical Examiner are investigating the incident.”
An article in Outside magazine said Benjamin was an experienced whitewater rafter who had run the river before. His raft appeared to get caught in a hole, “a powerful hydraulic feature,” and was trapped for a short period of time. Benjamin surfaced, unconscious, a couple minutes after the raft broke free, the article says.
Benjamin could not be revived despite extended CPR efforts by trained personnel on scene, the article says.
