Crime & Safety
Kayaker Drowns in Potomac River near Great Falls
Two kayakers went underwater near Great Falls on Thursday. One was rescued; the other drowned in the water.
Update (Thursday, July 11, 10 p.m.): Of the two kayakers who went underwater Thursday afternoon in the Potomac River near Great Falls, one was rescued, and the other one drowned.
Rescue workers found the body of the second kayaker at around 7 p.m., according to the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service's Twitter feed.
Original post (Thursday, July 11, 6 p.m.): Rescue crews searched for two kayakers in the Potomac River near Great Falls Thursday afternoon, according to the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service's Twitter feed.
As of 5 p.m. Thursday, one kayaker had been rescued, and rescuers continued to search for a second kayaker—a woman wearing a black personal flotation device, the rescue service reported.
A U.S. Park Police helicopter assisted with the search, the rescue service added.
The currents in the Potomac River near Great Falls are known to be deadly, Potomac Patch reported earlier this month.
“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.
Already this summer, two people have drowned in the Potomac River near Great Falls, Patch reported on June 26 and July 1.
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