Northeast Iowa Kayakers Rescued Off Wapsipinicon River

Northeast Iowa kayakers had to be rescued Friday about 20 miles southwest of Oelwein.

The Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office says they received a 911 call at about 6:30 pm Friday night reporting that four individuals were kayaking on the Wapsipinicon River, south of Littleton, when some of the kayaks began to take on water, causing two individuals to go into the water. One of the individuals made it to shore before losing sight of the others.  

Sheriff’s Deputies and Fire/Rescue personnel were immediately dispatched to the area and the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Drone Team was also deployed. At about 7:30 pm, the drone located the three remaining individuals on the river just north of the Otterville Access as Fire/Rescue crews were getting to the area via boat, which safely returned all three individuals to shore at the Otterville Access at 190th Street and Furman Avenue by Jesup firefighters via their Rescue Boat. They were evaluated by EMS with no injuries reported.  

The Independence Fire Department, Jesup Fire Department, Jesup Ambulance Service, AMR Ambulance Service and Independence Police Department also assisted with the rescue efforts.