State hires consultant to evaluate riverbed where kayaker was sucked into whirlpool

This June 10 photo provided by provided by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission shows a whirlpool along the Spring River in northeastern Arkansas. Geologists say a sinkhole apparently created the whirlpool, which dragged a man to his death on June 9. Bill Prior of the Arkansas Geological Survey said it is rare to have a sinkhole open in a river bed. (AP Photo/Arkansas Game and Fish Commission)
This June 10 photo provided by provided by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission shows a whirlpool along the Spring River in northeastern Arkansas. Geologists say a sinkhole apparently created the whirlpool, which dragged a man to his death on June 9. Bill Prior of the Arkansas Geological Survey said it is rare to have a sinkhole open in a river bed. (AP Photo/Arkansas Game and Fish Commission)

The area surrounding a sinkhole in Spring River will remain blocked off as the state begins an evaluation of the riverbed, officials said Friday.

Geologists discovered the sinkhole near Sadler Falls in early June when a kayaker died after being sucked into the whirlpool. Donald Wright, 64, who worked as executive director of the halfway house Life Recovery Center in Searcy, was later identified as the man who drowned.

Commissioner of State Lands John Thurston announced after meeting Thursday with members of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission that his office had enlisted a consultant to evaluate the area and that the assessment would begin as soon as Monday.

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Photos by Arkansas Game and Fish Commission

“This matter is of the utmost importance and urgency, as evidenced by the very tragic loss of life recently,” Thurston said in a release Friday. “The matter is compounded by the anticipated increase of traffic due to the upcoming holiday.”

He said his office is involved in the reparation of the sinkhole because the state owns the riverbed.

Keith Stephens, spokesman for the Game and Fish Commission, said several buoys and ropes cordon off the area and that currently there is no passage past the sinkhole.

Stephens said the agency will continue to monitor and restrict access to the area as needed.

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