CUMBERLAND COUNTY, Pa. (WHP) — Investigators have uncovered that the 10-year-old who was found dead in Yellow Breeches Creek on Aug. 14 was not wearing a life jacket at the time. Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission confirmed the news to CBS 21 on Thursday, two weeks following the death of Matthew Coffroth Jr.
By TMX staff and Emily Van de Riet
Published: Aug. 16, 2024
YORK COUNTY, Pa. (Gray News/TMX) – The body of a 10-year-old kayaker who disappeared under the water in Pennsylvania on Saturday was found under a pile of debris Wednesday morning, officials said. The York County Coroner’s Office identified the child as 10-year-old Matthew Coffroth Jr.
Matthew set out on a kayaking trip on Yellow Breeches Creek with three adults and three other children on Saturday. Shortly after entering the water, at around 5 p.m., the kayakers ran into heavy debris stirred up by recent storms. All the kayakers made it to shore except Matthew, who was swept underwater and did not resurface.
Body Found 8/14
From Jeff Shirley via FB: Victim confirmed as 10 year old boy, he was part of a group of 3 adults and 4 children, they encountered debris in the creek and exited, but the boy was not able to make it off the creek, attempts to rescue him failed and they called 911. I could not hear the reporters questions, only the answers from Fairview Twp and PA Fish and boat commission. The victim was in his own kayak. I did not hear “PFD” in any answers, so sadly it appears local reporters did not know to ask the question. The recovery effort is taking time due to clearing a huge amount of debris piece by piece.
The Fairview Twp Fire Dept. confirms it was a juvenile kayaker. The creek was at typical summer low level of just under a foot on the camp hill gauge before Debbie. It crested at around 10.4’ late Friday night, flood stage starts around 7’. There were several road closures around the bridges on Friday and Saturday morning. Many of these bridges are now partially blocked by logs and debris. The level had dropped to around 3’ at the time of the incident, a pretty strong flow for the creek, not the usual lazy float experience the rec kayakers and tubers experience this time of year. It is typical for new strainers, (some creek wide) to become problems after a storm like this one. Although it wasn’t mentioned in the official statement, earlier reporting indicated a strainer was the cause. There are a lot of comments out there about no pfd, no official confirmation… it is rare to see a pfd on the creek.
From Adam Rettig via FB: Throughout much of the year this creek sees a lot of tubing and rec kayakers. There are multiple, known, points of access. It’s a free stone cobble stream, and current is never really over powering, so the hazards like strainers are visible and most can walk around them. This is what most tubers / rec boaters would likely recall and expect when hopping on the creek. It is a really popular, and pretty busy, tubing/rec boating creek with many points of access.
Fairview Township Fire Department
August 11, 2024 - NEWS RELEASE
