Rescuers search along Cumberland River for possible drowning victim

Police and firefighters had to rescue the rescuers late Monday evening after a boat, which was searching for a possible drowning victim, broke down in the Cumberland River.

Whitley County Emergency Management Director Danny Moses said that about 5:30 p.m. Monday, two men observed what they thought was a body on a log floating in the Cumberland River near the bridge on Highway 779 near Highway 11.

"They weren’t for sure what they saw, so they came down to the Louden Bridge to get a better look, and then they went onto the Williamsburg boat ramp," Moses said.

The two men weren’t sure what to do, and notified authorities about 8:30 p.m. concerning their possible body sighting.
He said one person was apparently reported missing in floodwaters in Knox County, but that he hasn’t received a description of what that person was wearing yet and doesn’t know if what the two bystanders saw was definitely a body or the body of the person from Knox County.

"They were pretty sure with the description they gave and I’m pretty sure too that (a body) is what they saw too," Moses noted.
He said the two men were pretty sure what they saw was a body, and he concurs with them.

Moses said Williamsburg firefighters and police along with Commercial Vehicle Enforcement officers attempted to spot the body along the river, but without success.

Moses, Kentucky Division Emergency Management Area 11 Manager Jerry Rains, and Jason Lewis with Eco Tech in London, put an airboat into the Cumberland River near the trash gate at Redbird well after dark Monday.

"The water was pretty swift here in Williamsburg, so we went down to Croley Bend to come up river," Moses said.

He said the trio rode the airboat about two miles up stream against fast current when the engine gave out in the airboat near Ballard Ford.

He said the current was too fast to put a regular boat into the river.

"It left us stranded in the river. We were able to grab some branches and tied the boat up. We finally got it most of the way out of the water so we had to rescue the rescuers," Moses said. "I think it was the first time I have ever been in that predicament."

The trio notified other emergency responders and started walking. Police and firefighters were waiting for them when they walked out on Ballard Ford Road.

Moses said that Lewis planned to use an excavator to pull the boat out of the river Tuesday.

River conditions are too dangerous to put another boat into the river for a search right now unless there is another spotting of the body, Moses said.

Search efforts were called off about 2 a.m. Tuesday.

"We didn’t have any luck locating the body," Moses said. "I’m still looking."

McCreary County rescue workers have been notified as has the park’s department and Sheltowee Trace Outfitters, which offers river rafting below the falls along the Cumberland River.

Moses said he and other emergency workers are still observing the waters along the river hoping for a sighting, but because the apparent body was floating on a log it is moving quickly.

Assuming it didn’t get snagged anywhere, it could already be past Cumberland Falls given the speed of the river, Moses added.
Moses said he’s not sure how many emergency responders were out helping to look for the body late Monday night and early Tuesday morning, but that it probably included nearly the whole Williamsburg Fire Department.

"It was more than a dozen. Just about all of the Williamsburg Fire Department showed up," he said. "That is one thing about Whitley County, if you need help, these volunteers will come out and help you."
Moses said the two bystanders did the right thing calling authorities.

"You have to take every sighting serious," he said. "Those guys didn’t want to call something in that might not be what they thought it was, but that is OK. Even if it hadn’t been, that would have been all right. Just go ahead and make the call if you think something is wrong."

Moses said that aside from the usual problem spots when high water happens, Whitley County didn’t experience any major problems with flooding because of recent rains.

Patterson Creek Volunteer Fire Department did help one stranded motorist stuck in high water Monday morning in the eastern part of the county.