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5 Found Dead in Ohio After Child Tells Driver His ‘Family Was in the River’
The New York Times ^ | July 20, 2026Updated 6:36 p.m. ET | Michael Levenson

Posted on 07/20/2026 6:17:44 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum

Two women and three men were pulled from the Scioto River, outside Columbus.

Five people died in the Scioto River in central Ohio after one of them went in for a swim on Sunday and began struggling and others tried to rescue the person, the authorities said.

The group had gathered by the river near the O’Shaughnessy Reservoir, just northwest of Columbus, to enjoy a summer evening and to fish, the Delaware County sheriff, Jeffrey Balzer, said at a news conference on Monday.

At some point one person in the group decided to swim, and “that’s when the tragedy started to occur,” Sheriff Balzer said. That person started struggling in the water, he said, and two others went into the river to try to help. Then those two began to struggle, he said, prompting two more people to venture into the river.

At about 9 p.m., a driver noticed a young child who was “clearly distraught,” running alongside a road by the river, Sheriff Balzer said. The driver called 911 and reported that the child had said that his “family was in the river,” Sheriff Balzer said.

Firefighters, police officers and other emergency workers responded and found two adult women in the river; they were taken to hospitals and pronounced dead, Sheriff Balzer said.

Rescue crews continued searching the river until they found the bodies of the remaining three people, all adult men, at about 2 p.m. on Monday, Tracy Whited, a spokeswoman for the sheriff’s office, said in an email.

Sheriff Balzer said the child and another child who had been with the group were in the care of the county’s child welfare agency. The children are 6 and 7 years old.

It was not immediately clear how the people in the group were related, but Sheriff Balzer said...

(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...


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To: dforest

Every holliday, our lake place area has several drownings.

Almost ALL of them involve alcohol and many of them are hispanics. I think, perhaps, they’re not good swimmers to begin with ... and, the alcohol empowers them to believe that they are.

Never a good mix, regardless.


21 posted on 07/20/2026 6:46:40 PM PDT by Jane Long (Jesus is Lord!)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Just awful for this child. A memory that will never be forgotten.


22 posted on 07/20/2026 6:47:25 PM PDT by Fury
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

“Balzer said there is a language barrier in communicating with the children, “

in the middle of America ..


23 posted on 07/20/2026 7:10:02 PM PDT by A strike (fvckMI6. Drool Britannia. & No more Dots)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Alcohol and perhaps other substances.


24 posted on 07/20/2026 7:10:48 PM PDT by Ge0ffrey
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Good God, what a bunch of idiots.


25 posted on 07/20/2026 7:12:24 PM PDT by yldstrk
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To: E. Pluribus Unum
Firefox says it could not be installed because the file appears to be corrupted.
Any advice?
26 posted on 07/20/2026 7:14:01 PM PDT by TangoLimaSierra (⭐⭐To the Left, the Truth is Right Wing Violence⭐⭐)
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To: TangoLimaSierra

Try downloading it again?

I just followed the directions when I installed it, and it worked.


27 posted on 07/20/2026 7:21:09 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum (Israel über alles.)
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To: ConservativeMind

There is a 4H group of kids in my area that I’m fond of. They brought some gifts for a bunch of veterans recently that really touched my heart. I just sent an email to the group leader about teaching them the basics of drownproofing. We learned drownproofing in boot camp as Marines. I swam for 45 minutes with my clothes on and used a couple of the techniques.

I was on my lunch break from work many years ago and while crossing a little creek bridge saw some officer pulling a little girl out of the water. She was blue and that memory still haunts me.


28 posted on 07/20/2026 7:24:10 PM PDT by OftheOhio (never could dance but always could fight - Romeo company)
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To: TangoLimaSierra

You probably found this already, but I just followed the instructions.

https://gitflic.ru/project/magnolia1234/bypass-paywalls-firefox-clean#installation


29 posted on 07/20/2026 7:30:41 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum (Israel über alles.)
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To: ConservativeMind

Even knowing how to swim often produces over-confidence that can get you into trouble. I remember swimming across a large pond as a kid and that was so stupid of me.


30 posted on 07/20/2026 7:33:06 PM PDT by OftheOhio (never could dance but always could fight - Romeo company)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum
Yep, downloaded twice. Extracted the zip folder, but it held no FF extensions.
A lot of .js and .json files and folders but nothing FF liked.
31 posted on 07/20/2026 7:35:13 PM PDT by TangoLimaSierra (⭐⭐To the Left, the Truth is Right Wing Violence⭐⭐)
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To: Fai Mao
You don’t swim in rivers here. There are too many alligators, big snapping turtles, and water moccasins that will get you.

There are no alligators in Ohio. Snappers and water moccasins, ok.

32 posted on 07/20/2026 7:39:49 PM PDT by EinNYC
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

https://abcnews.com/US/5-dead-after-attempt-struggling-swimmer-ohio-river/story?id=134929424


33 posted on 07/20/2026 7:42:39 PM PDT by kiryandil (Democraps are gay-Islamic-race-communists )
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To: TangoLimaSierra

https://freerepublic.com/focus/news/4388721/posts?page=33#33


34 posted on 07/20/2026 7:43:06 PM PDT by kiryandil (Democraps are gay-Islamic-race-communists )
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To: TangoLimaSierra
I tracked down my extraction folder. I am pretty sure it's the .XPI files that contain the extension. Does that look familiar?


35 posted on 07/20/2026 7:54:55 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum (Israel über alles.)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum
Never jump in to save someone from drowning. Because they're out of their mind in a panic they will drag you under to use you as flotation. You'll both drown. This is lifeguard training 101.

Throw them a rope to pull them in or a branch or toss them anything that floats.

36 posted on 07/20/2026 7:58:33 PM PDT by yesthatjallen
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To: ConservativeMind

It was a required course for me in high school. Mandatory for graduation. Probably a good idea for those growing up on the great lakes.

CC


37 posted on 07/20/2026 8:00:34 PM PDT by Celtic Conservative (Heghlu'meH QaQ jajvam!)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

“Know your limitations,” is wise advice for all ages!
Pay heed!
That story is the saddest one I have heard of in a long time.
Orphaned children? God bless their future.


38 posted on 07/20/2026 8:02:21 PM PDT by BatGuano (The lord is my Sheperd.)
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To: EinNYC

I wouldn’t totally discount that. There was a story a couple of years ago about some kids on a field trip in West Middletown. That is near J.D. Vance’s hometown. There was a 7 foot crocodile seen in the creek. I have been a creek walker since a boy, wow. There was an alligator seen in the great Miami river many years ago near Trenton, Ohio.


39 posted on 07/20/2026 8:04:50 PM PDT by OftheOhio (never could dance but always could fight - Romeo company)
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To: TangoLimaSierra

Try one of the .XPI files in the left panel.

https://gitflic.ru/project/magnolia1234/bpc_uploads/blob?file=bypass_paywalls_clean-4.3.9.0-custom.xpi&branch=main


40 posted on 07/20/2026 8:05:34 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum (Israel über alles.)
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