HARPERS FERRY, W.Va. (AP) - One person drowned and another was rescued by helicopter after they capsized close to rapids in the Shenandoah River near the West Virginia-Maryland border, an emergency response official said Tuesday.
The adult female who drowned and the 13-year-old girl who was rescued were kayaking and tubing with three family members near Harpers Ferry, said Bakerton Fire Department Chief Josh Smith. He said they capsized near the Bull Falls rapids.
Smith said officials recovered the woman's body. He said he didn't know her age or name.
The Maryland State Police sent out a helicopter at 7:15 p.m. Monday to rescue the teenager, who was stranded on a rock surrounded by rapids, police said in a news release. Because her location was impossible to reach by boat, rescuers had to lower a basket with an officer to retrieve her, the release said.
Emergency management officials from Bakerton, and from Washington and Frederick counties in Maryland were out on the river until about 11 p.m., Smith said.
The two young children and a second adult who had been on the trip were either checked out at a hospital and released or refused treatment, he said.