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A church youth group on a canoe outing got into trouble Thursday afternoon in rough water, triggering a large-scale rescue on the Uwharrie River in Montgomery County.
Emergency services personnel rescued all 30 boaters with no injuries reported.
Montgomery County spokeswoman Laura Morton said six adults and 24 children were in the group that called for help about 12:15 p.m. from the river.
Rescuers say it appeared as if the water level rose suddenly on the river, and the boaters became separated. Some members of the group called 911.
It is not clear where the boaters were from. Montgomery County officials said the outing was organized by God's Country Outfitters of Stanly County. But the Greensboro News & Record said it was told by a member of the group that the boaters were from a Raleigh-area church.
Morton said crews from Montgomery and Randolph counties, with additional help from other local and state agencies, were called to help.
The group had put into the water at Low Water Bridge, a narrow wooden structure on the Uwharrie River near N.C. 109, about 8 miles northwest of Troy. It is near Morrow Mountain State Park and the Uwharrie National Forest, a pair of popular vacation spots. Low Water Bridge is a popular access spot to the river for kayakers and canoers.
Morton said authorities were called at 12:16 p.m. and told that between 22 and 30 people were in need of rescue. Cell phone communication is spotty in that part of Montgomery County, and for a while, it appeared as if a large portion of the group was missing.
Park rangers told the Observer that the water level rose about 9 inches soon after the group got into the water. Heavy rain has fallen in parts of North Carolina in recent days, causing some flash flooding and causing stream and river levels to rise.
Randolph County Emergency Management officials said seven people were rescued from the river on N.C. 109 at Reservation Road, several hundred yards from the bridge.
It is not clear how far the other boaters had drifted when they were rescued.
Morton said Montgomery County set up an Emergency Operations Center near the site and asked for the N.C. Highway Patrol to provide its helicopter in the search. There are unconfirmed reports that a pair of Army Blackhawk helicopters involved in a training exercise nearby also was called in.
