*Linden man dies in kayaking accident at Riverton Dam

By M.K. Luther

mkluther@nvdaily.mkl  Northern Virginia Daily News

FRONT ROYAL -- Mark Grand, 51, of Linden was pronounced dead at Warren Memorial Hospital,
according to Julia Dixon, spokeswoman with Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. Dixon did not have the exact time of death and the official cause of death will be released by the chief medical examiner's office, she said.

Grand was kayaking with a companion and approached the dam and became caught in the hydraulics -- the churn or whirlpool created at the base of the dam. "The force of the water can hold someone under water, " Dixon said.

The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries has jurisdiction over
all boating accidents in the state, Dixon said.

The man was unresponsive and pulseless when rescue crews pulled him from
the river and CPR was being administered, said Capt. Raymond Cross of Warren
County Fire and Rescue Services.

According to the man's girlfriend, he had entered the river to kayak and
"paddled up to the dam and got sucked through the hydraulic," Cross said. He
was "able to exit the kayak but not the hydraulic," Cross said.

Front Royal Volunteer Fire Department, Warren County Fire and Rescue and
Linden Volunteer Fire Department crews responded to the scene and launched a
rescue boat, Cross said.

Crews retrieved the man from the water and he was taken to "a waiting
medic," Cross said and taken to Warren Memorial.

Cross said the incident underscores the importance of staying away from
dams in all situations.