National Center for Cold Water Safety
Rule 1 / Case 2
Always Wear Your PFD (Lifejacket)
Michael Francis and Randy Francis
July 6th 2012 - Matanuska Lake, Alaska
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It was a pretty Friday morning in Alaska, but the water in glacier-fed Lake Matanuska was bitterly cold at 9 a.m. when 70-year-old Michael Francis of Pocatello, Idaho and his brother 55-year-old Randy Francis of Palmer, Alaska rented a 16-foot red canoe from Lifetime Adventures, a contractor that operates the campground and a canoe-rental livery at the state recreation area.
Within an hour, a family out on the lake saw an overturned canoe and discovered Michael nearby, floating dead in the water, his arm looped through a life jacket. There was no sign of his brother Randy. Neither man was wearing a personal floating device when the canoe capsized, and the one Randy should have been wearing washed up on shore a short while later.
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The Mat-Su Borough dive team and Mat-SAR dog teams continued to search the area for Randy’s body until it was found the following afternoon at a depth of 35 feet.
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Case Note:
This case raises the question of whether it’s sensible for contractors to rent canoes to people who are completely unprepared for immersion in very cold water.