Richmond woman identified as Russian River drowning victim

The woman who drowned Friday afternoon in a canoe accident on the Russian River has been identified as a 69-year-old Richmond resident.

The woman, who was wearing a life jacket, was identified as Heidi Boley, according to Sonoma County Sheriff’s Sgt. Spencer Crum.

Sheriff’s officials said they don’t know what caused Boley to drown while wearing a life preserver.

“Unfortunately it just turned tragic,” Lt. John Molinari said Saturday.

Boley and two friends had been paddling an inflatable canoe down the river southwest of Healdsburg Friday when the boat accidentally overturned. The two friends made it to shore, but they couldn’t locate Boley. The sheriff’s helicopter, Henry 1, arrived about 12:35 p.m. to search for the woman, joined on the ground by deputies and other emergency personnel.

About 1:30 p.m. a boat crew with the Geyserville Fire Department located Boley under tree limbs near the riverbank.

Henry 1 conducted a long-line rescue and brought the woman’s body to shore, where she was pronounced dead.

Molinari said deputies were still working on a report on the circumstance that led to the woman’s death.

Rescue workers previously had described the river Friday as fast moving but not treacherous.

At 7 a.m. Friday the river’s flow was reported by the Sonoma County Water Agency to be 998 cubic feet per second at the Hacienda Bridge at Forestville, downstream from the mishap.

While that volume is a fraction of the river’s flow at flood stage, it remains considerably higher than the summertime flow of 129 cfs in early September.

You can reach Staff Writer Robert Digitale at 707-521-5285 or robert.digitale@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @rdigit