KUNA, Idaho — Just a few weeks ago, Indian Creek in Kuna was roaring and full of water. Now, the rapids are long gone as the creek sits empty for the season.
After a Kuna woman drowned in the creek this summer, one neighbor is warning of hidden dangers lurking beneath the surface.
“This is my backyard. We’re right on the creek,” said Richard Connell.
Connell lives just off Indian Creek and feels it’s far too dangerous to float for his liking.
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“I’ll go to Boise, and I know it’s got some hazards too, but they go down there and clean that out. You know this doesn’t get cleaned out, it just runs," said Connell.
We first met Richard in September when a Kuna woman drowned in the stretch of creek near his home.
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“That day, the first day I talked to you, you know, you saw how I was. I mean, it hurt. I didn’t know the people, but it hurt,” he said.
Since then, water levels have dropped, revealing hazards that were hidden before.
“It can be real deceiving, someone wanting to come down and get out and let’s say they jump right here. You see the ends of it over there, you know that cuts you up real bad," said Connell, referring to an old cable bridge that once stretched across the creek.
Years ago, he tried to move the large cables left behind with a truck, but said it was too heavy to get completely out of the creek.
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Large tree branches, barbed wire and sheet metal also sit wedged between lava rock in parts of the creek bed.
“The water’s real calm right here, and you can see that’s gonna all be underwater,” Connell said. “They’re not gonna see it, so you cut yourself on it or get tangled up in it.”
Even with the hazards, that won't keep floaters from getting in the water once the creek fills back up.
“If you’re gonna do it, be careful,” Connell added.
Indian Creek is expected to remain empty through March. Once the irrigation season begins, the New York Canal will again fill the creek bed.
