Two overturned kayaks were discovered early Tuesday morning (6/25) north of Oskaloosa.  The good news is that everyone has been accounted for and no one was hurt.  The Mahaska County Sheriff’s Office tells the No Coast Network it was called around 1:10am about two capsized kayaks on the South Skunk River north of Oskaloosa.  A group of four kayakers had entered the river on Highway 63 near the Oskaloosa Waterworks plant around midnight.  One of the four had swam to short and walked to a neighboring farmhouse to call for help.  Mahaska County Sheriff Russ Van Renterghem says two more kayakers arrived safely to the Glendale river access on Oxford Avenue, leaving one kayaker unaccounted for.

“So that’s when we contacted the Osky Fire Department and the New Sharon Fire Department to bring their boats out so we could start searching for her. It was about 3:15 this morning where we actually found her on land and she was safe.”

All four kayakers refused medical treatment.  Van Renterghem says kayaking or canoeing late at night isn’t a good idea….especially with water levels being so high.

“The river is just bank full, I mean, the South Skunk is bank full.  Much more coming down, it’s going to be out of its banks again.”

Van Renterghem adds that all four kayakers were wearing life jackets.