A paddle on the Potomac River turned chaotic on Sunday, when a group of adults and young people paddling together became separated from their kayaks and stranded just downriver of Seneca Creek on the Maryland side of the river.
Reports came in just before 2:30 Sunday afternoon that a group of people was stranded on an island after a red kayak floated downstream. Multiple swift water rescue crews, along with a Maryland State Police helicopter, responded. As they responded to the call, another 911 call came in for a person in the water near Blockhouse Point.
According to the Montgomery County Fire Department, there were a total of 10 people traveling together in four kayaks—eight adults and two adolescents.
Currents were strong this weekend and water levels high. The paddlers, separated from their crafts, ended up scattered between Blockhouse Point, Seneca Breaks, or clinging to nearby rocks or islands. They were not paddling with an organized guided group or outfitter, and they may not have been very experienced in waters like this section of the Potomac, the fire department says.
Swift water boats from Fairfax and Loudoun County, Virginia, along with Montgomery County, Maryland, worked to make sure everyone paddling with the group was accounted for. The state police helicopter hoisted multiple people safely back to land from the island where they took refuge.
This video by US Park Police Aviation, shared by Maryland State Police, shows how the hoist operation delivered the stranded victims to land:
The Montgomery County Fire Department said one or two people were pulled from the water in various locations and several were plucked from rocks they clung to near Elms Point in the fast-moving river. Several of their kayaks were recovered as well.
Ultimately, all 10 stranded people were rescued and brought back to land at Seneca Creek Landing and Riley’s Lock, Montgomery County Fire Department Public Information Officer Pete Piringer said.
Piringer tells us the water level was definitely higher than normal, over 5’4″, and the currents were strong and swift. The fire department has warned in the past that this section of the Potomac River is aerated, which could pull a person in the water downward rather than floating along the surface as they might expect.
