ALBANY - Three children were rescued from the Sugar River Thursday evening after they were washed downstream while playing at a campground.
The three children, aged 10, 12 and 16, were reported missing at 8:06 p.m., said Green County Sheriff Mark Rohloff.
The mother of the children reported that they had last been seen swimming near the Sweet Minihaha Campground at 6:30 p.m.
"The water was high and swift because of all the recent rain," Rohloff said.
Fortunately, mere minutes after the children were reported missing, a nearby resident heard calls for help from Decatur Lake, a widening region in the Sugar River approximately 2.5 miles from the campground, Rohloff said. The resident used a boat to reach the children and bring them to shore.
Rohloff said the children and their mother were visiting from McHenry, Illinois. No injuries were reported after their rescue. Their rescuer could not be reached for comment.
Heather Chojnacki, an employee at the Minihaha Campground, said this was the first such incident to have occurred at the campground in its seven years of operation.
Rohloff said he believed the children could have been in severe danger had they not been heard.
In February, two men were killed in the Pecatonica River after high water levels generated extreme currents that capsized their boat. A third man was rescued and treated for hypothermia during that incident.
The three children, aged 10, 12 and 16, were reported missing at 8:06 p.m., said Green County Sheriff Mark Rohloff.
The mother of the children reported that they had last been seen swimming near the Sweet Minihaha Campground at 6:30 p.m.
"The water was high and swift because of all the recent rain," Rohloff said.
Fortunately, mere minutes after the children were reported missing, a nearby resident heard calls for help from Decatur Lake, a widening region in the Sugar River approximately 2.5 miles from the campground, Rohloff said. The resident used a boat to reach the children and bring them to shore.
Rohloff said the children and their mother were visiting from McHenry, Illinois. No injuries were reported after their rescue. Their rescuer could not be reached for comment.
Heather Chojnacki, an employee at the Minihaha Campground, said this was the first such incident to have occurred at the campground in its seven years of operation.
Rohloff said he believed the children could have been in severe danger had they not been heard.
In February, two men were killed in the Pecatonica River after high water levels generated extreme currents that capsized their boat. A third man was rescued and treated for hypothermia during that incident.