Canoer drowns

SUTTON -- A Chugiak man died when his canoe overturned in the Matanuska River near Chickaloon Friday afternoon.

Thirty-one-year-old Steve Katchis was reported missing by his boating partner Scott Self, 37, also of Chugiak, after their canoe rolled over in the Matanuska River near Mile 74 Glenn Hwy. Neither was wearing a lifejacket.

Self told responders that the two were trying to ford the river when the canoe capsized and both men were flung into the water.

According to reports, Self was able to grab onto the canoe, but when Katchis attempted to recover a paddle he was carried downstream. Self got ashore when the canoe floated to some rocks.

When volunteer emergency crews, including the Mat-Su Borough Dive Rescue Team and responders from Sutton, Palmer and Butte, arrived on scene, they found it was difficult to get a boat to the river at the access point. While emergency crews worked to stabilize Self and treat him for hypothermia, members of the dive rescue team decided to swim the river to search for the missing boater.

Equipped with dry suits, lifejackets, throw bags and Boogie Boards, Dive rescue Deputy Chief Ron Durheim and fellow dive rescuer Gordon Butt entered the river and swam downstream.

"We found the canoe downstream," Durheim said Monday morning. "We pulled the canoe out and searched it."

By then, other dive rescue members had borrowed a river raft from Nova Riverrunners and were floating downstream as well. In addition, Alaska State Troopers had dispatched a helicopter to search the river.

When troopers spotted the body three miles downstream, they picked up Durheim to assist in retrieving the boater. Katchis' body was recovered at about 8 p.m. He was deceased on scene.

Durheim said the incident is a painful reminder of the importance of lifejackets. During fishing, boating and hunting season, many Alaskans are out on the water.

"We're getting more and more water calls every year," Durheim said.

He reminded Valley residents to wear lifejackets any time they are in or even near water.

"Without a lifejacket, it really slims down their odds," Durheim said.