Story - The Meade County Messenger


Vol. 119. No.25	JUNE 23 , 2010

Miracle on the Ohio:
Residents aid sinking boat and passengers

With the recent heat and humidity plaguing the area, residents have taken to the refuge of the Ohio River for some fun and coolness.

But that refuge wasn’t as much fun as it could have been for Samantha Grace and some of her friends June 12.

“We were stopped in the middle of the water near Flint Island,” Grace said, “and a wave hit the boat and the boat started taking on so much water that there was nothing we could do about it. We had to get out of the boat.”

Grace said the people on the bank of the island – Neal and Curt Johnston – urged them to get out of the boat, a 1972 Ranger, as fast as possible.

Grace said after they left the boat, the Johnston duo took their personal watercraft on the river to rescue and return them to safety.

Grace said she and the others on the ill-fated voyage, Marshall Brown and Jeffrey Swink, were uninjured, but the same can’t be said for their boat.

It sank, despite the valiant efforts of Grace, Brown and Swink to retrieve it.

“We were just playing in the water and thought we would go out and have a good time,” she continued.

“We tried to get out, but it was not to be. No one was drinking or anything. Everything just happened so fast.”

“We are happy that we are all alive and the only casualty was the boat. We feel lucky there were people nearby who could help us get out of the water,” she concluded.

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