The body of a State College man who died while kayaking Friday at Ohiopyle State Park was pulled from a rapid known as “Bottle of Wine” on the Lower Youghiogheny River.
Ohiopyle fire Chief Rob Joseph said the kayaker, identified as Michael Barney, 43, encountered changes in the river as a result of high water and got stuck around 7 p.m. Barney, an experienced, well-known boater in Ohiopyle, was kayaking with friends, according to Fayette County Coroner David Baker.
Efforts to rescue Barney by his friends as well as first responders with the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and Fayette EMS were unsuccessful.
Joseph said Barney was pulled out of the water by his friends on the right side of the river, opposite from where first responders access the water from the Great Allegheny Passage. Since it was later in the day, none of the outfitters had trips coming down the river to assist with extra boats. Those two factors made the recovery a bit tricky, Joseph said.
Wilderness Voyageurs inflated a raft and delivered it to the rescue site to allow first responders to get across the water and safely bring Barney’s body back.
“In 15 years, we’ve never had … where the victim was brought out on the opposite side of the river,” Joseph said, adding that river accidents typically happen earlier in the day.
Ohiopyle State Park manager Chris Houck could not be reached Monday.
A report on the American White Water accident database indicated Barney got stuck in a “pour-over hole.” Two fellow kayakers performed CPR until rescue crews arrived, the report said.
His death was ruled an accident as a result of drowning, according to the coroner.
At 11:45 a.m. on Friday, the Yough River was at 4.87 feet at the put in in Ohiopyle, upstream from where Meadow Run empties into the water. A typical summer river level is around 2 feet. The accident report indicated the water level was high and listed the area as a class IV rapid.
The Bottle of Wine rapids is about 4 miles downstream from Ohiopyle. It is below Dimple Rock, which has been the site of drowning in the past.
Fifteen people died and six were injured after falling into the Lower Yough while kayaking or rafting, either on private or commercial trips, between 1982 and 2022, according to the American Whitewater database and TribLive archives.
A June 2024 TribLive report highlighted the dangers associated with boating on the along the Lower Yough. The Lower Yough attracts thousands of rafters and kayakers every year thanks to the reservoir system upstream that allows water to flow reliably through warm months.
