Augusta man, 21, drowns in Buffalo

— An Augusta man drowned Tuesday afternoon in the Buffalo National River despite park rangers’ rescue attempt, the National Park Service announced.

Park visitor Justin Clark, 21, of Augusta was pronounced dead at the scene at 2:08 p.m. by the Searcy County coroner’s office.

In a news release issued Tuesday evening, the park service’s agency that covers the Buffalo National River said Clark was on the Buffalo River downstream of Grinders Ferry when he got into trouble.

About 12:30 p.m., another visitor had contacted a middle district ranger working out of Tyler Bend, a spot on the river that is a few miles northwest of Marshall in Searcy County. The caller reported that someone wasunder water downstream of the landing.

A park ranger was dispatched, arriving at 12:45 p.m., according to the release, which didn’t identify the ranger.

The ranger radioed for help from park rangers in other districts and the Air Evac helicopter service. The rangers used another visitor’s canoe to get to Clark, locating him at 12:52 p.m., and began CPR while the canoe took the victim to Grinders Ferry, according to the release.

At 1:06 p.m., the ambulance arrived and 10 minutes later, the rangers transferred medical assistance to the medics.

Witnesses told authorities that Clark was complaining of leg cramps before he disappeared, according to the release.

Northwest Arkansas, Pages 14 on 07/28/2010

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