Four Pulled From Virginia River After Canoes Capsize
BUCHANAN, Va. -- Four adults who launched two canoes about 1 p.m. Thursday on the James River at Buchanan were rescued from cold, high, rushing and debris-filled water slightly more than two hours later after both canoes capsized about 3 miles downstream from this small Botetourt County town.
Conservation Police Officer Shannon Smith said the two men and two women had negotiated the high water as they canoed downstream but capsized when they attempted to take a break and paddle to shore through trees flooded by high water.
One of the men was taken by ambulance to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital for treatment of hypothermia, Smith said. The other three were treated at the scene, he said. He did not identify the canoeists. He said the two women were wearing life vests and that one of them said she could not swim.
The men's life vests were in the canoes, he said.
Rescuers included personnel from the Buchanan, Troutville and Eagle Rock volunteer fire departments, the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, Botetourt County Emergency Services and some members of Roanoke Fire and Emergency Medical Services' swift water rescue team who happened to be training Thursday at the Troutville fire station.
The county sheriff's office and the Virginia State Police also responded.
Smith said a canoeist was able to use a cellphone and report that they were capsized, in the water and in trouble.
Jason Ferguson, battalion chief for Botetourt County Emergency Services, said the emergency call was received at 2:26 p.m.
A boat from the Buchanan Volunteer Fire Department was the first to reach the scene, according to Chief Billy Joe Carter and volunteer Steven Brease.
"When I came out of the boat and I hit the water it took my breath away," Brease said.
He said one of the women was calm.
"The rest of them were freaked out," he said.
Smith said he did not yet know what destination the canoeists had in mind. He continued investigating the incident Thursday night.
He said people will sometimes head for the James River for canoeing or kayaking on a warm day even when the water is still cold and running high with floating debris, which he said can be a hazardous combination.
The upper James River basin was hit by heavy rains Wednesday night, and that runoff was reflected in the river's depth Thursday. Between midnight Wednesday and noon Thursday, the river rose from 5 feet to 12 feet, according to readings collected at the Upper James River Gauge in Buchanan. It continued to rise as the canoeists started their trip, hitting 12.54 feet by 6 p.m., in the high water category where boaters are urged to use caution, but still well below the 17-foot flood stage.
Brease did not mince words: "This is not a day to be out here on the river in these kinds of water conditions," he said.
Copyright 2012 - The Roanoke Times, Va.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
