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Search renewed for missing Big Horn River boater

Associated Press - July 21, 2009 1:35 PM ET

BASIN, Wyo. (AP) - Big Horn County authorities are renewing their search for a 39-year-old man who's been missing since he was thrown from a boat on the Big Horn River seven weeks ago.

Big Horn County Sheriff Ken Blackburn says Robert Brinkerhoff of Shell is presumed drowned, but it will be up to the county coroner to determine a cause of death.

Brinkerhoff was 1 of 6 people who fell into the Big Horn River near Graybull on May 31 when their flat-bottom boat flipped on a submerged tree branch.

The five other occupants were pulled to safety. Blackburn says it appears the boaters weren't wearing life jackets.

He says searchers have worked on and off in recent weeks to find Brinkerhoff.

He says now that the river has slowed, a team from Sublette County will use a sonar unit to help map the river bottom to look for Brinkerhoff.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.



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