SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - The Latest on family rescued on a Utah river (all times local):
2:05 p.m.
A Utah sheriff’s deputy says a Colorado pastor and his family stranded in a steep canyon on the banks of a high and fast southern Utah river survived two days with food and some gear from their capsized kayaks.
Deputy Ray Gardner said Monday that the safely family rescued Sunday from the Escalante River lives from the town of Bailey, Colorado, about 45 miles southwest of Denver. Gardner did not have the names of the family but said the father was a pastor and had led a prayer shortly before help arrived in a state police helicopter.
Gardner, one of the rescuers, says a mother and two teenage daughters were flown to a nearby airport. Rescuers then flew the father to the family’s car near a trailhead. The father later met his family at the airport.
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12:10 p.m.
Authorities say a family of four has been safely rescued from the banks of a southern Utah river two days after their boats capsized after hitting high water and boulders.
Utah’s Department of Public Safety said Monday that a mother, father and two teenage girls were rescued from the Escalante River on Sunday after a DPS helicopter searching for a missing kayaker spotted the family desperately waving their arms.
DPS spokeswoman Marissa Cote said the family had been stranded since Friday. She did not know how they survived two days but said the parents and the daughters, ages 13 and 17, did not need medical attention.
Cote did not have details about the family’s names or whether they live in Utah.
She says the missing kayaker that prompted the original search was later found safe.
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