Taken from KJAO Local News, 5/16/23
Tragedy Struck GP Family When Husband and Wife Drowned in Rogue River at Indian Mary
News ImageTragedy struck a Grants Pass family late last week when a husband and wife drowned on the Rogue River at Indian Mary Park.
The Josephine County Sheriff's Office issued a press release Monday afternoon, nearly three days after the incident occurred late Friday. That's
when the Sheriff's Office was notified about two adult subjects in distress near the Indian Mary Park boat ramp.
Sheriff's Lieutenant Jim Geiger said information provided to 9-1-1 indicated that bystanders pulled an adult male from the Rogue and CPR was in
progress. The second subject -- an adult female -- was last seen floating downriver. The couple has since been identified as Dan and Lynn Boyum
of Grants Pass who were RVing at the park with friends. Both were graduates of Grants Pass High School.
Witnesses at the scene stated the Boyums were at the Rogue with their dog, which swam to the other side of the river and would not swim back.
Lynn entered the water to retrieve the dog, was overwhelmed by the swift current and Dan threw a rope to her without success. Dan then entered
the water to rescue his wife, but he also became overwhelmed by the current and went underwater. Bystanders were able to pull Dan from the water
and started CPR. He was transported to a local hospital where he later died.
An extensive search effort was launched to locate Lynn with personnel walking the riverbanks and a Sheriff's Office marine boat combing the river.
The search went until dark Friday night and resumed Saturday morning until it was called off. Lynn was still missing and presumed drowned as of
Monday afternoon. Next of kin have been notified. The family dog returned to the couple's campsite by Friday evening.
Dan Boyum graduated from GPHS in 1968 and Lynn Boyum graduated from GPHS in 1970. After serving in the Navy during the Vietnam War, Dan
was active in the food service industry for many years. Lynn was a long-time beautician. The Grants Pass Broadcasting Corporation sends its
sincere condolences to the family.
EN2 Danny Boyum
BJU-1 / FCG1 1971-73
d. May 12, 2023
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‘Turbo Vestri Hostilis’
Tragically
May 12, 2023
Danny Boyum EN2 BJU1 1971-73, died in a high current water related
accident along with his wife Lynn. Dan died trying to save her. Happened
this Mothers Day weekend while they were camping, her body is yet to be
recovered.
UPDATE: 6-5-23, Lynn Boyum's body was recovered today. This can give
some closure to the family during their time of tragedy.
THE STORY: taken from the Rural Metro Fire fb page, Josephine County,
Oregon.
One man is dead and one woman is still missing after the Josephine County
Sheriff's Office responded to a 4:53 p.m. drowning incident on Friday.
According to a Monday afternoon news release from JCSO, it started when
the couple's dog swam to the opposite end of the river.
"Witnesses at the scene stated the male and female were down at the river
with their dog which swam to the other side of the river and would not swim
back. The female entered the water to retrieve the dog and became
overwhelmed by the swift current," the release said. "The male threw a rope
to the female without success. He then entered the water himself to rescue
the female and also became overwhelmed by the current and went under
the water. Bystanders at the scene were able to pull the male from the river
and start CPR. He was transported to a local hospital where he later died."
According to the release, the woman was last seen "floating down river from
the boat ramp." Police searcher for her by walking along the riverbank and
searching the water with JCSO's marine boat.
They ended the search at 8:30 p.m. on Friday and resumed at 8 a.m. on
Saturday, the release said.
"Again, the search effort was called off after multiple hours of searching.
The female is still missing at the time of this release and next of kin have
been notified," the release said.
Article taken from Rogue Valley Times written by SHAUN HALL Jun 7, 2023 Updated Jun 7, 2023
A body found Saturday in the Rogue River downstream from Galice was identified as Lynn Boyum, 68, of Grants Pass, who was
swept away in a strong current May 12 at Indian Mary Park while trying to retrieve her dog, according to the Josephine County
Sheriff's Office.
Her husband, Danny Boyum, 72, of Grants Pass, tried to save her, but he died, too. He was pulled from the water by bystanders. The
dog survived.
In the aftermath of the double tragedy, searches of the park area and river didn't locate Lynn Boyum until her body was spotted
Saturday by a rafter, hung up on a branch about 10 feet from shore near Argo Recreation Site, according to Josephine County
Undersheriff Travis Snyder. The Argo site is about 10 river miles downstream from the park.
The agency waited until Lynn Boyum was found before releasing her name and the name of her husband, out of consideration for the
family, according to Snyder.
"This is a step toward closure for the Boyum family," he said Tuesday. "Until she was found that was an open wound."
According to sheriff's office reports, witnesses said the Boyums were down by the park's boat ramp with their dog when the animal
swam to the other side of the river and wouldn't return. Lynn Boyum then tried to retrieve the dog, but she became overwhelmed by
the swift current. Danny Boyum threw a rope to her without success and entered the water, but he, too, became overwhelmed and
went under.
A bystander pulled Danny Boyum from the water and immediately began CPR, according to Austin Prince of Rural/Metro Fire. A pulse
was regained and Boyum eventually was transported unconscious by ambulance to a local hospital, Prince said, but Boyum didn't
recover.
The dog got out OK and was being cared for by family.
The couple had been camping at the park, which is located about seven miles west of Merlin, along a stretch of the river known as its
recreational section, where boaters and swimmers flock on hot days. The high temperature that day in Merlin was in the upper 80s
and the river temperature at Grants Pass was a cold 57 degrees. Snyder estimated the river flow that day at a strong 6,000 cubic feet
per second, with the river level higher than it had been for years at that time of year.
Since then, the river flow has lessened, with the flow Tuesday at Grants Pass at 3,000 cfs and the water temperature at 59.9 degrees,
according to the city of Grants Pass.
Snyder said the deaths were a tragic reminder of how dangerous the river can be. Prince said the current can be deceptively swift
below the surface and that cold water will quickly affect muscle function.
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