Canoeists rescued from Driftwood River

Daily Journal staff reports

Two Franklin canoeists were among several rescued after being stranded late Saturday night.

Ryan Gosser and Heather Groege, both of Franklin, and two others from Indianapolis, were stuck in the Driftwood River due to water depth and darkness, according to a news release from the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department.

They were taken back to Heflin Park by Bartholomew County Water Rescue and Recovery and were not injured.

The stranded canoeists were found when the water rescue team was out searching for four canoeists who were missing. The sheriff’s department was called to Blues Canoe Livery in Edinburgh at 9:25 p.m. Saturday because four people of a a six-person group that had gone into the Driftwood River at 11 a.m. had not returned, the news release said.

The stranded canoeists told the search team that they had helped four other canoeists who had one of their two canoes capsize, the news release said. They had last seen the four canoeists as they were climbing the west bank of the river that borders Camp Atterbury.

The water-rescue team located the two abandoned canoes south of the Hendricks Ford Bridge. A reserve deputy was given permission to begin searching Camp Atterbury, the news release said.

The water rescue team asked special deputy James Ogilvie, who owns a helicopter, to search by air. About 11:30 p.m. Saturday, Riddle located the four missing canoeists from Indianapolis walking inside Camp Atterbury. They were identified as Ann Harris, 43; Hunter Harris, 8; Drew Vannoit, 14; and Megan Lasing, 14. None were injured.