Two kayakers rescued from St. Marys River

ST. MARYS - Two St. Marys men were rescued from the St. Marys River Saturday night after their kayaks capsized and plunged them into 47-degree water.

St. Marys Fire Department and emergency medical squad personnel received a call at 8:45 p.m. that two males had been caught in the river, which was flowing quickly due to earlier rain and snow. The men were holding onto a log south of the South Street bridge to avoid being swept away.

The men reportedly had started in Larkin Park, where Kopp Creek was overflowing. When they reached the St. Marys River, they capsized and the current carried them to south of the South Street bridge, where they managed to grab onto a log.

Fire chief Douglas Ayers told the newspaper that one man was eventually able to climb to shore, but he was exhausted. Two people were sent in to rescue the other man.

St. Marys Township firefighters had also offered aid, setting up a swift water trap in case the men slipped and were caught in the current again.

First responders estimated the men had been in the water for 30 to 45 minutes. They were transported to a hospital due to hypothermic conditions.

"We always stress during winter not to go into the rivers, not to go onto the ice because it's so dangerous," Ayers said. Yet the torrential downpours the area encounters in the spring and summer can cause the rivers to swell, creating conditions that can be just as dangerous, he continued. The current can drag dangerous debris from upriver or pull someone underwater.

Ayers said the two men were lucky someone saw where they were and that they'd been able to grab onto the log.

"You get on the other side of High Street, there's no one to see you," Ayers said during Monday's city council meeting.

Neither man had been wearing a life jacket, he said.