Couple Rescued Sunday from Rain-Swollen Sauk River

(KNSI) — Law enforcement is renewing its call to stay off of area rivers until further notice after a husband and wife had to be rescued from the Sauk River Sunday.

The Stearns County Sheriff’s Office says a call came in about 4:00 from a woman who said she and her husband were stranded in a grove of trees near County Road 121 in Waite Park and unable to get to shore. The woman explained the two had launched their kayaks near Rockville, and during the trip, her husband turned his kayak around to see where she was, then hit a tree and capsized. She said she tried to stop and help him, but her kayak flipped, too.

Rescuers found the two and deployed an airboat to pluck them from the fast-moving water. Mayo Ambulance treated them at the scene, and they drove themselves to the St. Cloud Hospital.

Three men accidentally flipped their kayaks on Saturday afternoon, also on the Sauk River, after one kayak hit a submerged object and capsized. The other two became entangled and also flipped. They got themselves to shore and were released at the scene.

The Sauk River and Mississippi River are under flood warnings after recent heavy rainfall. Police say only expert canoers and kayakers should be out on the water for the time being.

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