Multiple public safety agencies were involved in a search and rescue operation for two elderly people who disappeared while kayaking on the Ochlockonee River on Tuesday, November 7.
The operation began shortly after 7 p.m. in the area north of Iron Bridge Landing, based on early information, where members of the Tallahassee Fire Department searched for over an hour without success.
Using drones and a helicopter, search teams branched out and expanded the search area, finally located the missing kayakers well north of the initial location they were thought to be in.
The pair were stranded in the sand across the river from the search team who found them, and were examined for injury.
The rescuers then used the patient’s own kayaks to float them across the river, where they were wrapped in coats and blankets, and then loaded on stretchers and carried through hundreds of yards of wooded terrain.
Around 2 a.m. on Wednesday, November 8, the pair were assessed as stable, and Gadsden Emergency Medical Services transported them to an undisclosed area hospital for further evaluation and treatment.
Stephen Klein – Gadsden County News Service
