The Caribou River
What follows is an account of Saunder’s accident on the Caribou River the morning of May 5, 2023.
Understanding of Saunder’s accident came through discussions with Saunder’s co-workers, the timing of text exchanges with friends, and talking with the Lake County deputy and Sheriff’s Rescue Squad.
Saunder left his home at Lutsen Resort at 10:30 am after sharing with his resort family that he was heading out for a run in his kayak. He had texted with friends prior—His friend Kate was told about all the gear he had purchased to have a safe run; Avery and Saunder texted about her Senior photos she had coming up. She had asked Saunder to take them and he assured her he had already researched “fields she could frolic in!”. In true Saunder fashion a meme followed that was off-brand from Avery’s vision but offered the good laugh he was really after. He had also purchased “hubs” from a local seller for a bike he had told Jason he was going to upgrade. A typical start of a day, Saunder touching base with his people and thinking ahead on his next project. I find a sweetness in knowing about how his day began and how happy and playful he was feeling from the tone of his texts.
At 11am he arrived at Caribou River and sent a text at 11:02am that showed as “undeliverable” on his phone screen when we recovered the cell from the Two Harbors Sheriff station. He put his phone in a plastic bag in the pocket of his pants and pulled his water proof kayak suit over his clothes. He put his life jacket and helmet on and headed up the trail. Saunder was not one to embark on an adventure on the North Shore without the best gear and protection and this trip was no exception.
On Saturday, May 6 Jason, Avery, Asher and I were joined by our friends Jenny, Krist, Beth and James and we walked the trail along the Caribou River that he took. With an understanding of kayaking and knowing Saunder as well as he does, Jason found where Saunder would have “put-in” at the river’s edge. It would have been easy to launch from and would have offered Saunder a fun but quick run back to his car—enough of a ride to test out his skills, new gear, and provided the excitement Saunder was looking for. It took us about 15-20 minutes to walk there and would have taken Saunder about the same carrying his gear.
Saunder put-in at approximately 11:20am.
11:45 am two fisherman called Lake County police and reported a flipped kayak
12:12 pm Jason received a phone call from the deputy stating Saunder’s car was parked in the lot at Caribou River and his unoccupied kayak was spotted by fishermen. A search and rescue party had been released to look for Saunder.
1:45pm Saunder was recovered from the shore of Lake Superior 1/2 mile from the mouth of the river.
His kayak was recovered prior; located 1/4 mile from the river.
Saturday, May 6th the autopsy confirmed that the cause of death was drowning.
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Our greatest fear after learning of Saunder’s death and visiting the river was that he had gone down the 40 foot waterfall that was located on private land just before the mouth of the river met Lake Superior. It rattled us to our core to imagine his panic upon coming up on that fall. Following our walk along the river on Monday, May 8, Jason called the sheriff’s office and spoke to the deputy. He was such a kind man allowing Jason as long as he needed with him to answer questions and clear our minds of scenarios we had created in our head.
Upon learning from the deputy that Saunder’s kayak was spotted upside down up river from the parking lot and well before the waterfall we felt some weight lifted. The deputy explained that based on the timeline Saunder was likely only kayaking for 10-15 minutes at most. He believed the kayak hit a shelf and capsized. He said the shock of the water temperature is so startling (36 degrees at that time) that Saunder would have gasped, taken in water, and his drowning would have been very quick.
Jason and I have found peace in the deputy’s words and in stories we have heard and read from those who have survived drowning… each sharing that drowning is very peaceful—not the panic that one would assume. My dad was the first to share of this as he survived a drowning incident in 2017.
We have also found peace in these 2 beliefs…
The Deputy shared that it is not often that a kayaker is found so quickly and many times not at all. These rivers contain many places where the body can be pulled under and become stuck — never to be recovered. I raged at the river the first time I walked it on May 6th. I raged at Saunder for entering the river. However, to my surprise I woke the next morning with an appreciation for the river — a belief that I owed it a thank you for cradling my son’s body after he passed and carrying him through brush and fallen branches, over rocks, and down a 40’ waterfall out to the Lake and back to us with nothing more than some scraps and light bruising on his face. We got to see Saunder again and that has brought each of us peace.
I also find tremendous comfort in this—
My sister was working in a client’s home when she was overcome with a very heavy depression that fell over her. It moved her to tears and she reached for her phone to call her husband. When he picked up she couldn’t put words together so she said nothing and hung up. The time was 11:32am. I believe Saunder crossed over at that time and I find comfort in knowing his spirit was in contact right away.
On June 6 I revisited Caribou River with my parents. We approached the river’s edge at the same place I had on May 6th. The dark place where I had raged and cried in disbelief one month prior was swarming with yellow butterflies—fluttering about and in clusters like the one below in the photo I took. It was a spiritual and freeing moment shared with Saunder’s grandparents.
