DENVER -- Searchers found the body of a Cherry Creek School District official who fell off a raft into the Colorado River, deputies said Wednesday.

Eric Kophs, 42, of Aurora, was fishing with a friend on a raft near Radium, southwest of Kremmling, when the raft went into the Needle's Eye Rapids and Kophs fell into the water.

He was not wearing a life jacket, according to searchers.

He was found on a small island several miles downriver, said Rodney Johnson of the Grand County Sheriff's Office.

The island had been covered by high water up until Tuesday when the water began to recede exposing parts of the island and Kophs body, Johnson said.

Kophs was the director of elementary education for the school district and started with the district as a teacher in 1995. His wife is an assistant principal in the district.