Crime & Safety

Kayaker Attempts Great Falls, Drowns

A 23-year-old woman drowned Thursday afternoon while attempting to kayak down Great Falls in the Potomac River, police reported.

The body of a 23-year-old kayaker was found in the Potomac River near Great Falls Thursday evening by Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service workers, according to a Montgomery County Police Department statement.

The kayaker—Shannon Christy, 23, of Greenville, SC—was attempting to kayak down the falls when—shortly after 4 p.m.—she went under the water and was pinned there for some time, police reported.

Rescue crews were assisted by Christy's fellow kayakers, according to the police. At about 6:30 p.m., rescuers were looking for her near Olmsted Island in the Potomac River near Great Falls, according to the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service's Twitter feed.

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A second kayaker also went underwater on Thursday afternoon, but was rescued, the rescue service tweeted, Patch reported.

The currents in the Potomac River near Great Falls are known to be deadly, Potomac Patch reported earlier this month

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"People think that the water doesn’t have the power that it does," but it’s more powerful than even an Olympic swimmer, Jon James, Deputy Superintendent of the George Washington Memorial Parkway, said.

Two other people have drowned in the Potomac River near Great Falls this summer, Patch reported on June 26 and July 1.


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