Low built dams like the one on the Ohio River in Crescent where one kayaker drowned Saturday and another remains missing are “true drowning machines,” according to the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.
Emergency crews Monday searched for a third day in an attempt to find Helene Brandy, 25, of Coraopolis, who has been missing since Saturday when her kayak went over the Dashields Dam between Sewickley and Crescent. Searchers recovered her bathing suit top and life jacket, according to an aunt.
A fisherman recovered the body of Brittany Evans, 25, of West View, the second kayaker, shortly after the accident happened.
“It's devastating to the family,” said Valerie Brandy of Findlay, Helene's aunt. “We just hope and pray that she is found. The waiting is the hardest part here.”
Dams like Dashields, which have no structure above them, can be virtually undetectable from upriver, according to the Fish and Boat Commission. The hazard is compounded by powerful, churning currents known as “boil” that are extremely difficult to escape.
“Of all the things you may encounter on a river or stream, the low-head dam is one of the most dangerous,” the commission says in its “Pennsylvania Boating Handbook.” “There are hundreds of such dams on rivers and streams throughout Pennsylvania, and they are true “drowning machines.”
Dan Muller, assistant Crescent fire chief, told the Tribune-Review that about 27 people have drowned at the dam during his 49 years as a firefighter. That happened despite numersous warning signs on the river, he said.
Dashields is equipped with 50 buoys with warning markings and lights upriver of the spillway, according to Jeff Hawk, spokesman for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which operates the dam. He said a large caisson in the middle of the river also carries signs warning of the danger as do mooring cells along the riverbanks where barges tie off before entering a lock.
“It's really incumbent upon the individuals to become familiar with the river before they get out there,” he said.
The Army Corps, U.S. Coast Guard and Fish and Boat Commission advise all boaters to become certified in boating safety and familiar with strange waters through charts and online sources before hitting the water.
Eric Levis, Fish and Boat Commission spokesman, said kayakers are not required to have any training.
“You can buy a kayak and go out and start paddling,” he said. “Depending on where you go, there might be regulations on the use of your kayak, but that's about it.”
Valerie Brandy described her niece, a University of Pittsburgh graduate, who recently landed a job in the human resources department at Dick's Sporting Goods, as smart and athletic.
She was a cheerleader at Upper St. Clair High School and at Pitt.
“She was a good athlete and a smart young woman,” Valerie Brandy said. “Her life ended way too soon.”
Bob Bauder is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 412-765-2312, bbauder@tribweb.com or @bobbauder.
