A husband and wife drowned on Halloween after both went underwater in the lower Salt River while sharing an inflatable kayak, with neither wearing a life jacket. Cindy Bowers, 68, and Anthony Beringer, 59, were sharing a single kayak when they went underwater, and both were later found dead in the water about an hour apart.
The couple’s deaths were reported by AZ Family, which detailed how first responders were called to the river around 1:30 p.m. Saturday after reports of a man yelling that his wife could not swim as the two floated downstream. Deputies said both Bowers and Beringer then went missing underwater, triggering a search along the lower Salt River.
Crews found Bowers’s body just after 2 p.m. Saturday. Beringer’s body was located upstream around 3 p.m., according to the same report. The sheriff’s office confirmed the pair had been sharing one kayak and that neither was wearing a life jacket at the time.
Deaths Remain Under Investigation
Investigators have not released further details about what led the inflatable kayak to put both riders in the water at once, and the couple’s deaths remain under investigation, per the report. No additional information about the exact cause has been made public.
The tragedy adds to a string of drownings that have plagued the Salt River in recent years. In 2023, an 81-year-old man died after reportedly falling out of his kayak and failing to resurface, according to AZ Family. About 20 minutes after that incident, a separate family needed rescue after their kayak capsized in the Phon D Sutton area, causing them to become separated in the water.
Pattern Of Fatalities Along The River
Earlier this year, two men drowned within 48 hours of each other over Memorial Day weekend, identified by the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office as Sahr Sewah, 22, and Jason Blake Jr., 23, according to 12 News. In both of those cases, the sheriff's office said the men were not wearing life jackets, and the incidents happened within a mile of each other. The sheriff's office said at the time it would increase patrols on the river through the summer.
As of June, Maricopa County Sheriff's officials said two people had drowned in the Salt River that year, including a recent Arizona State University graduate who died on Memorial Day, as reported by KJZZ. Arizona native Berenice Pelayo told the station the river's depth varies sharply, from 3 to 4 feet in some stretches to roughly 6 feet in others. “There's parts where the current really does pick up, and I don't think people are aware of how fast the current can take you and how strong it can be,” Pelayo said.
Crowds And Currents Strain Rescue Crews
Pelayo urged anyone heading out on the water to wear a life vest, especially if they cannot swim. “I would suggest it for of course everybody, but especially those that don't know how to swim,” she said. Her comments echoed warnings issued after other Salt River emergencies, including a 2021 incident in which deputies rescued struggling tuber Carley Bove, as described by FOX 10 Phoenix.
That same FOX 10 Phoenix report found Lake Patrol medical calls had risen 14% year over year, missing-person responses were up 19%, and search-and-rescue operations had climbed 22% amid holiday-weekend crowds. The outlet also noted 17 drownings were recorded from January through June of that year, compared with 10 for all of the previous year. Hoodline previously reported that Maricopa County recorded nine drownings the year before a 22-year-old died over Memorial Day weekend, underscoring how often the river has turned deadly even during its busiest, most festive stretches.
Not every close call on the Salt River has ended in tragedy. In one earlier case reported by ABC15, two men went underwater near the Sheep's Crossing Recreation Site, with one identified as 27-year-old Mohammed Seleman Nasri and the second, 25-year-old Abdul Khaliqi, found the following day. Those recurring incidents, paired with Saturday's deaths, have kept pressure on river visitors and authorities alike to take basic safety precautions, like wearing a life jacket, more seriously before heading out onto the water.
