Sinkhole that killed Arkansas kayaker repaired, official says

A track hoe is used Thursday to close a sinkhole that opened in June in the Spring River.
A track hoe is used Thursday to close a sinkhole that opened in June in the Spring River.

A sinkhole that killed one person when it opened last month in the Spring River in northern Arkansas was closed Thursday, the commissioner of state lands said.

A team of officials used a track hoe, or excavator, to collapse the limestone roof of the sinkhole, according to John Thurston. The structure fell into itself, eliminating the possibility of whirlpools and other water hazards.

Donald Wright, who worked as executive director of the halfway house Life Recovery Center in Searcy, was floating in an area known as Dead Man's Curve below Saddler Falls June 9 when the sinkhole opened. The 64-year-old's kayak capsized and was sucked into a resulting whirlpool.

The sinkhole repair came about three weeks after officials from several agencies began an evaluation of the riverbed. A consulting hydrogeologist from Missouri used a dye-tracing technique to identify characteristics of the sinkhole and other risky areas that needed to be cleared in the repair, according to a news release from the commissioner's office.

The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, the Arkansas Geological Survey, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Parks and Tourism, the attorney general's office, the Fulton County sheriff's office and several volunteers assisted in the effort, the release states.

“Without the tireless work of many people, we would not have completed this project in a timely manner,” Thurston said in a statement. “Each agency, official and volunteer has given a great amount of time to put together the plan and act upon it before anyone else was injured.”


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