Mom with baby clings to tree after they’re separated from tubers on NC river, crews say
A mother with a baby held onto a tree after they got separated from a group of tubers on a North Carolina river, officials said.
The mom told first responders she and her young child spent the night along the Yadkin River as storms rolled in over the weekend, causing water levels to rise. The mom reportedly walked through the woods before the two found safety about a mile away at a Dollar General store.
“She looked very scratched up, beat up,” Shana Davidson, manager of the store, told WFMY. “The baby honestly looks like she was in the water for a long time, but it looked like the mother did everything she could to protect the baby.”
The mother and baby reunited with loved ones hours after they went out on the river with three of their other relatives. The family members were on inner tubes that were tied to each other when the outing went awry at about 3 p.m. Saturday, July 15, according to Greg Blackburn, deputy chief of the Ronda Fire Department.
The group hit debris in the river, causing the rope that linked the tubes together to break and leaving some of the tubes deflated, Blackburn told McClatchy News in a phone interview.
The mom and baby became separated from the dad and two older children, who eventually managed to get out of the water. They sought help at the Ronda fire station just after 8 a.m. July 16, officials said.
As crews from several agencies searched the river for the missing mother and child, the two showed up at the dollar store. They were taken to a hospital to be evaluated, according to Blackburn.
“To spend all night long hanging on to a log … I’m sure that’s scary,” Blackburn told WGHP, which reported that the mom and baby were wearing life jackets.
Firefighters encourage people who are going out on the water to check weather forecasts, let others know their plans and bring waterproof containers or other devices to hold cellphones.
The Ronda Fire Department is a volunteer agency serving an area roughly 45 miles west of Winston-Salem.
This story was originally published July 20, 2023 at 2:52 PM with the headline "Mom with baby clings to tree after they’re separated from tubers on NC river, crews say."
