Perkins woman drowns in Illinois River
May 30, 2011
The Muskogee, OK Phoenix
High, rushing waters resulted in at least one drowning on
the Illinois River over the weekend. Kristina Singleton 24, of Perkins drowned
around 1 p.m. Saturday when the raft she was in hit a mid-stream obstruction 10
miles northeast of Tahlequah, said Ed Fite, director of the Oklahoma Scenic
Rivers Commission.
Water in that area was 8 feet deep and rushing at 6,000
cubic feet per second, Fite said. Normal flow is 400 cubic feet per second.
Fite said Singleton’s body was recovered about two and a
half hours after the incident was reported. He said Singleton was not wearing a
life jacket, nor were other passengers in the raft.
Monday afternoon, Scenic Rivers Commission officials
investigated a reported drowning of a person at Lake Francis near Watts, Fite said.
Fite said water at Watts was 5.3 feet, 2 feet above normal. But, water was
flowing at 1,800 square feet per second.
