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 ...
This probably has no merit in this particular case; but, knowing how to swim does not help you in fast water.
I've been rafting on the Cahutta and Chatooga rivers in Georgia. You have to take a river survival class each time. If you fall out of the raft you must just lie on your back and go feet first down the rapids. Any attempt to grab a rock will result in a broken arm or the hide ripped from your hands. You will eventually reach a wide spot where the water calms a bit. Lines with loops will be fired across your body. You are expected to put that loop over your head and under your armpits. Three big guys will haul you to shore.
I did fall out once. I was totally helpless. The first calm spot had no lifeguards present, so I tried to get out myself. I could not hold onto anything, be it a rock or branch. The lifeguards were at the second wide spot; and, true to their word, they launched three ropes across my body. I chose one and looped it under my armpits as directed. They pulled me out. I was so weary from the exertion and the cold water that I went to sleep right where they laid me. I woke up later on a heated mattress with heated blankets on top of me.
Without a trained rescue, I'd be dead. Usually I'm a good swimmer.
Poor kid. That sucks!
Never go into water to save a drowning adult. They panic and push you down. Better to try other methods, throwing something that floats. I have no idea why so many people cannot swim its easy. Actually I do but its considered racist.
I’ve rafted in the Chatooga too… did not have an incident like yours. But I have a great respect for rivers…. A lake or even the surf can be much more forgiving than a fast-moving river. No thank you.
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