Three girls are safe after they went to a popular swimming hole only to be swept downstream by the fast-moving Castleton River and were finally pulled from the stream just above a series of waterfalls.
Authorities say it’s a cautionary tale: Rivers usually placid by August have been swollen by recent heavy rains. Ponds and lakes are safer for swimming.
A 17-year-old girl who was overseeing her 14- and 10-year-old sisters took them swimming Monday morning, only to have the river drag them 200 yards downstream. They managed to grab onto the stream’s slate-line banks and a passer-by heard their cries for help.
Local and state police, the town fire department and emergency service personnel responded.