GIBBON, Neb. (AP) - Officials from central to eastern Nebraska are urging people to use caution around rain-swollen rivers.
The Buffalo County Sheriff’s Office cited two separate incidents on the Platte River in recent days, the Kearney Hub reported (https://bit.ly/2rn92fs ). Capt. Bob Anderson said two girls, ages 16 and 17, were found clinging to a log in the middle of the river near Minden in central Nebraska after trying to float down the river Thursday evening.
Anderson said the girls planned to swim or float to a bridge downstream, where an adult male companion would pick them up. Anderson said the girls didn’t have life jackets or flotation devices. When they didn’t arrive at the bridge, the man called law enforcement.
The girls were uninjured, but had to be brought to shore.
On May 27, sheriff’s deputies responded to reports of a person on an inner tube trapped in a manmade channel on the river. The person was not injured.
Anderson said people should always wear life jackets on the river and let people know where they’re going and when they’ll be back. He also suggested carrying a cellphone in a plastic bag to use to call for help if necessary.
“We’re blessed to have the Platte River here, but novice recreational use of it can be an extremely dangerous thing,” he said.
In eastern Nebraska, Elkhorn River access sites remained closed Saturday because of high water flows. The high water has resulted in more debris, swifter currents and increased levels of nitrates causing water quality concerns, officials said.
___
Information from: Kearney Hub, https://www.kearneyhub.com/
Please read our comment policy before commenting.