Claiborne County Rescue Squad/Editor Contribution

Five boaters; four adults and one 9 year old child, were found safe after spending a chilly night on a ridge overlooking Powell River Monday night. The party of five began their journey on Memorial Day to enjoy a day of floating the Powell River. They put in their boat at Cedar Fork Bridge on Memorial Day at approximately 2 P.M. and planned to end trip at the Riverside Bridge area.

Needless to say, what followed ensured that their Memorial Day will be remembered for years to come. Experiencing problems, they eventually lost their boat when it sank. Dark, cold, and unable to orientate their location; the boaters attempted to climb to higher ground. Due to the encroaching darkness, the climb proved too dangerous to continue.

When the boaters failed to return home, family members called Claiborne 911 for help. As a result of that call, the Claiborne County Rescue Squad was paged out Tuesday morning at 2:30 A.M. to conduct a search for the missing boaters. The Rescue Squad put a search boat in the water at Cedar Fork Bridge to start the river search. Meanwhile, another Rescue Squad team went to various points along the Powell River to conduct searches from the shore, and a third Rescue Squad team established a Search Command Post at an area near Riverside Baptist Church.

The missing boaters were located when they responded to voice calls from the search party on the shore; however, difficulties remained. The boaters were on the opposite side of the river and darkness was still working against them, hampering their hike back down the ridge to the river. The Rescue Squad was able to get their vehicle down to the shore line and with use of emergency lights, assisted the lost boater back down the ridge to the shoreline. Once at the shoreline they awaited the arrival of the Rescue Squad Search Boat to carry them across the river to the other side. Upon arrival of the search boat, Rescue Squad members recognized the boaters were chilled to the bone and begin to take off their jackets and put them on the boaters. The search boat made two trips across the river to transport the boaters to the awaiting Rescue Squad vehicle. The Rescue Squad transported the boaters to the Command Post at Riverside where they were reunited with family and friends. Claiborne ambulance service was on site at the command post to check out the boaters. The Rescue Squad members were glad that the boaters were found safe. Squad members said all too often searches end with recovering bodies out of the water. The Rescue Squad wishes to remind all boaters to use safe boating practices at all times and ensure proper life jackets are worn at all times while on the water.