MESA COUNTY, Colo. — A woman hospitalized after authorities rescued her from the Colorado River on Wednesday afternoon has died, according to the Mesa County Sheriff's Office.
Around 1:45 p.m. Wednesday, deputies with the Mesa County Sheriff's Office responded to help a group of six people on the Colorado River.
The group had been recreating on the river — on a raft, a kayak and a paddleboard — when they "got into trouble" near the S. 5th Street bridge, the sheriff's office said.
Five people were able to get out of the water on their own and walked onto an island. However, a woman who had been on the paddleboard was missing.
The sheriff's office, plus Mesa County Search and Rescue, the Grand Junction Fire Department and Grand Junction Police Department, responded and launched a rescue boat. The missing woman was found unconscious and not breathing, the sheriff's office said.
She was brought to shore and then transported to a hospital where she was pronounced deceased. She has been identified by the Mesa County Coroner's Office as Kimberly Moore, 42, of Grand Junction. Her cause of death was drowning and manner of death was an accident, the coroner said.
Rescue crews helped the other five people to shore.
The sheriff's office is asking anybody on the river to wear a life jacket, which are available for free at most boat ramps in the county. Waterways across the state are running high.