Sutton man killed in rafting accident

UPDATE, July 17. Alaska State Troopers amended their online dispatch over the weekend to reflect that Martin Rinke was part of a group of four rafters, who each had their own inflatable kayak.

A Sutton man was killed Saturday afternoon in a rafting accident on the Matanuska River near Chickaloon, according to Alaska State Troopers.

Troopers wrote in an online dispatch that around 1 p.m. they were notified of an overturned raft on the Matanuska River near Lions Head, a rock formation visible from the Glenn Highway. The raft’s occupants, a number which wasn’t listed in the dispatch, went into the water. Martin Rinke, 63, of Sutton was later pronounced dead at the scene, according to Troopers. Rinke's next of kin were notified and the body was released to the medical examiner’s office.