Kayaker drowns in the Linville River in the second paddling death in WNC this year

LINVILLE GORGE WILDERNESS - In the second fatality on a Western North Carolina river this year, a man drowned Saturday night in a kayaking accident on the Linville River in the Burke County area of Pisgah National Forest.

McDowell County EMS received a 911 call at 7 p.m. for an overturned kayaker, said Angela Hibbard, operations manager for Burke County communications, which dispatched the call.

The accident occurred at the intersection of the Linville River with the Pinch In Trail, an extremely steep and rugged hike-only trail. Emergency responders included Burke County and McDowell County rescue teams, the U.S. Forest Service, the North Carolina Forest Service, Oak Hill and Glen Alpine fire departments and Burke County React, Hibbard said.

The kayaker, William HalliBurton, "Burton" Greer IV, 32, of Atlanta, was an electrical engineer and avid whitewater paddler who spent a lot of time on WNC rivers, according to friends and family.

Burton and his younger sister, Meghan, grew up in Cobb County, Georgia. Burton was introduced to kayaking while in his early 20s by his second cousins Spring and Maury Weldon, according to Burton's parents, HalliBurton and Glenda Greer.

"We are especially grateful to these two girls for opening a door that has given Burton many friends," the Greers said by email.

Mark Zakutansky, a longtime friend of Burton’s, said they met many years ago through whitewater paddling.

“He was a very avid paddler, both kayak and canoe whitewater. He was definitely a top-notch paddler at the very highest level,” Zakutansky said.

“Burton had a love of experiences, of adventure, but most importantly of the people that he shared those experiences with. He had a gift to interact with people at every place he visited, and immediately came across as a friend. Burton created a sense community everywhere he went."

Burton Greer knew the WNC rivers well, and had competed in the Green River Narrows Race in Polk County, considered one of the most challenging downriver races in the world.

He and Asheville paddler Nathan Zumwalt were featured in a 2012 Canoe & Kayak magazine article for their history making descent as the first tandem open canoe to run the Class V Green River Narrows.

"He boated in WNC a lot, between the Green River, Cheoah, etc, there's a lot of dam release rivers that run all summer that he would paddle," said friend Chris Preperato. "He paddled all over the country, it was a driving force in his life."

According to Cathy Dowd, U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman in Asheville, Greer's kayak became lodged on a rock.

"Other kayakers arrived to help after approximately 20 minutes. They pulled him from the river and performed CPR. He died on the scene,” Dowd said.

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Dowd said the accident happened just below the last Class IV rapid, at a time when the river was unusually swollen after the recent rains.

"The river is not always high enough to run kayaks, so it’s not unusual for kayakers to be on it at this time, after a big rain," she said.

Rescuers arrived at 8:01 p.m. and cleared the scene at 1:30 a.m., Hibbard said.

“You can’t drive in. That’s what takes so long for rescues in Linville Gorge,” she said.

The Pinch In Trail begins on Kistler Memorial Highway/Old N.C. Highway 105. The accident occurred near the southern edge of the Linville Gorge Wilderness.

On March 3, Maria Noakes, 50, of Bryson City, died in a kayaking accident on the Cheoah River in Graham County. Noakes, a wife and mother to two young boys, was an expert, world-champion kayaker.

Noakes had been paddling the Class IV whitewater river with her sons and other friends, serving as the “sweep,” or last boat to make sure the other boaters all made it safely downstream.

She was found separated from her boat just upstream from the Tapoco Lodge, said Zach Allman, an officer with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, which investigates all boating accidents in the state.

No one witnessed the accident in which Noakes became the third person to die on the Cheoah River since 2006, Allman said.