2 swift water rescues in James River

8:43 p.m.

Just one look at the James River in Rockbridge County, and you can tell it’s high. Conservation officers say the river is about eight to 10 feet higher than normal. With all the rain we got Saturday night, nobody should be out here on the water.

Rescuers spent hours on Sunday afternoon busy with two separate rescues.

One rescue included a group of about a dozen boy scouts. One volunteer Glasgow firefighter tells us they were from Hampton – coming to the area to experience the James River rapids.

Butch Lawhorn with the Buena Vista Fire Department and Swiftwater Rescue tells us two boy scouts fell into the water first in an area surrounded by rocks. Another mile down the river, the rest of the boy scouts fell into the water. All of them needed to be rescued by boats.

“If the waters were at a normal level, they would have been fine,” said Lawhorn.

Lawhorn said it took about an hour to rescue the scouts. Then they got another call - a fisherman trapped farther down on the river.

“We just had got out of the water and we heard this incident, so we tried to get everything out of the water and loaded back up to come to this incident,” said Lawhorn.

Ten On Your Side followed the rescuers to the river to pick up the fisherman. They gathered around to figure out a game plan. The men got into the raft and took off after the man.

Within minutes, rescuers were back – plus one.

Conservation officer, Billy Angle, explains the man was trying to fish in the river with his brother. The second man made it to safety and went for help.

“They were up here camping from Charleston, West Virginia, for the week. But they’re both safe now which is a good thing,” said Angle.

The fisherman didn’t waste any time getting out of the raft and back onto dry land. Volunteers wrapped him up in something warm and took him away.

Angle suggested to the man that he should get checked out.

“As wet as you are, as cold as that water is. It’s totally up to you,” he said.

And the fisherman with his rescuers took off. After being stuck in the water, those stranded were in real danger.

“With water temperatures this cold and being flooded, you start taking a chance with being in the water a long time and hypothermia setting in,” said Lawhorn.

It’s something to keep in mind before you every go out on the water again.

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6:00 p.m.

From Candice Nelson, in the field
WSLS Reporter

A volunteer firefighter tells me that the Boy Scout group is from the Hampton area.  They came to Glasgow for a run down the class five rapids in the area, and were not aware of how dangerous the area was after all of the rain we’ve seen in the past week.  The river is between 8-10 feet above normal levels.

Two of the Boy Scouts fell out on the river run, and landed on an island, in-between some large rocks.  The rest of the Boy Scout group overturned further down river.

The boys are between 12-15 years old, and had Scout Masters with them.

On the second rescue, crews tell me two brothers from Charleston, West Virginia were fishing in a canoe, when that canoe overturned.  Neither man had on a life-jacket.  One of the brothers hung on to a tree near the riverbank until swift water rescue crews saved him.

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5:30 p.m.

From Candice Nelson, in the field
WSLS Reporter

The man clinging to a tree in the James River has been rescued.

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5:22 p.m.

From Candice Nelson, in the field
WSLS Reporter

Rescue worker on the scene tell me there were 12 total boy scouts in the group.

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5:09 p.m.

By Lynchburg News & Advance

Emergency workers rescued two Boy Scouts from the James River on Sunday afternoon after the canoe they were in overturned.
The incident happened just before 1 p.m. on the part of the river near Virginia 130 on the Amherst County/Bedford County border.
At 2 p.m., the Boy Scouts were spotted on a rock on the Amherst side of the James River. Members of the Buena Vista Swiftboat Team rescued the two boys shortly thereafter.
“At this time, they are all safe,“ Gary Roakes, Amherst County public safety director, said shortly after 4 p.m.

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5:02 p.m.

By WSLS News Staff

This is the second rescue of the day for the swift water crews.  Earlier, they helped a group of boy scouts stranded near the same area.

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4:42 p.m.

From Candice Nelson, in the field
WSLS Reporter

Swift water rescues crews are working to save a person who’s hanging onto a tree in the James River near Glasgow, in Rockbridge County.

More information as it becomes available.

Watch WSLS at 6:00 p.m. for a live update from the scene.