Woman rescued from river near Glen Onoko
Monday, August 1, 2016
By Terry Ahner tahner@tnonline.com
A young woman was rescued Sunday night from the river in the area of Glen Onoko Falls in Jim Thorpe after she fell off her inner tube and hung onto a rock or log. Jim Thorpe Fire Chief Bill Diehm said the incident occurred while the woman was inner tubing with a group of about two to five people about 200 yards down the river from where the falls are. “She was able to grab onto a rock or a log,” Diehm said. “She had no life jacket on. She was scared to let go, (and) her friends called 911.”
Diehm said the borough fire department was dispatched to the scene at 8:10 p.m., at which time it attempted to reach her with ropes and a life vest. But he said the water was too swift, and they couldn’t get her off, so they dispatched the Lehighton Fire Department, which had a boat they put in the Glen down to where she was. They were able to get the woman freed and bring her to shore, where Lehighton EMS took her to the ambulance and evaluated her, Diehm said. He said the woman did not appear to sustain any injuries, but she was scared, cold and probably a little hypothermia had set in as she was stuck for at least an hour. Diehm said the woman’s identity and age were unknown, though she is believed to live locally. “We were in communication with her,” he said. “It wasn’t like she was alone.”
