Lexington teen dies while fishing in Colorado, one day before his birthday
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- Lexington teen Noah Tinch died while fly fishing in Colorado Thursday.
- Emergency crews responded after a 911 text; Tinch was found unresponsive in water.
- A legacy fund in his name raised over $21,000 by Friday to honor his impact.
A University of Kentucky student from Lexington died while fishing in Colorado this week, one day before his 19th birthday.
Noah Tinch, a 2024 Henry Clay graduate who played soccer and football for the Blue Devils, died Thursday while fly fishing in Grand Mesa, Colo., his father Brett Tinch said in a social media post Friday.
“He lived in this area when he was young and learned to love fly fishing there and with me in Red River Gorge,” Brett Tinch wrote. “Noah was an amazing young man. He was smart and kind. We loved our son with all of our hearts and he told us he loved us often.
“Thank you for the outpouring of support and condolences in this difficult time. He would have been 19 today.”
The Mesa County Sheriff’s Office was called to the area of Sunset Lake, near Mesa, Colo., at 5 p.m. Thursday, after a man texted 911 to report a 19-year-old having a medical emergency, the sheriff’s office said in a social media post Friday.
Brett Tinch said Noah and his mother, Angie, were in Colorado to help empty her parents’ cabin and prepare it for its sale. During the visit, Noah wanted to show his mother how to fly fish, his father said.
But wrapping up their second day of fishing, Angie Tinch found her son unresponsive in less than 3 feet of water and performed CPR on him until emergency crews arrived, Brett Tinch said.
Despite further efforts by paramedics, he was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the sheriff’s office.
Brett Tinch told the Herald-Leader an autopsy revealed his son had suffered a head injury and subsequently drowned. They believed their son attempted to retrieve one of his fishing flies that had become tangled, lost his balance and fell.
“He had just passed his lifeguard test and was working at Tates Creek’s pool. And he and I had just gotten back from Brevard (North Carolina), where we had an epic day of fly fishing,” Brett Tinch said. “He was the best fly fisher I’ve ever seen. ... As hard as he worked at soccer, he would cast in our driveway for hours. He won science fairs with fly fishing projects. He loved it.”
A rising sophomore at UK, Noah Tinch was a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity and was majoring in kinesiology. During high school, he started his own GofFundMe account to help underprivileged children attend soccer camps at Henry Clay and Paul Laurence Dunbar high schools.
“I have been blessed to have had a successful soccer career through club and high school soccer over the last 12 years, and as I’m entering my senior year, I wanted to find a way to give back to the soccer community that has continually supported me,” Noah wrote at the time. “I understand the opportunities that I’ve been given, so I would like the chance to help provide the same to other local kids in my community.”
That effort was carried on by Henry Clay’s soccer team after his graduation. Noah was an all-city honorable mention soccer player in 2023 and played for Lexington Sporting Club and other travel teams, including Cincinnati United Premier Development Academy as a younger player.
When Henry Clay won the boys’ state soccer championship last season, Noah Tinch was there with some fellow grads and his former teammates to celebrate.
“There’s a reason why he was chosen captain of our team,” Henry Clay soccer coach Jason Behler said. “Whatever the right decision was, whether on the field or in the classroom, he would do it.”
A GoFundMe account for the “Noah Tinch Legacy Fund” had raised more than $22,000 as of Saturday morning.
“Noah was a beloved son, brother, and friend to so many,” the description of the account stated. “To know the Tinch family is to love them! Their family personifies kindness, generosity, inclusion, compassion, and love. Noah put an exclamation point on each of these characteristics and more.
“As a gifted athlete and natural leader, he was a friend to all and fierce protector. Noah was a defender of people by nature, and also on the soccer field. His soccer coach described him as a Gentle Giant.
“In the spirit of Noah’s heart for others, we are establishing the Noah Tinch Legacy Fund. Noah’s life wasn’t as long as we all hoped it would be but his legacy will always live on in those he loved and cared for.”
The money raised will go toward continuing Noah Tinch’s efforts to help kids without means attend soccer camps and might also be used to establish a scholarship for a future Henry Clay soccer defensive player, Brett Tinch said. He cautioned that there have been some scam fundraisers and false obituaries online in the short time since his passing.
“I’m seeing all these fake obituaries and people asking for money ... The names are wrong and the details are wrong,” Brett Tinch said. “I don’t want to see anyone profit off our son’s pain.”
Born in Lone Tree, Colorado, Noah Tinch had lived in Lexington since 2012. His older sister Zoe was a Henry Clay soccer player as well and attends the University of Louisville. His father, a Georgia native, and his mother, who grew up in Richmond, met as students at Eastern Kentucky University. Angie Tinch is CEO of Special Olympics Kentucky. Brett Tinch is a senior mortgage consultant for Prosperity Home Mortgage.
The family has scheduled a celebration of life gathering from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday in the Harris Ballroom of the University of Kentucky’s Gatton Student Center.
This story was originally published June 14, 2025 at 10:38 AM.
