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Five people rescued from Oconto River

Posted at 10:38 PM, Jun 29, 2016
and last updated 2016-06-30 22:39:12-04
The Oconto Fire and Rescue Department pulled five people from the Oconto River Wednesday evening.
 
Capt. Craig Henry told NBC26 just after 6:00 p.m., the strong current caused three tubers to get caught in the trees in the river. A man across the river in a paddleboat heard the calls for help, and then he got caught up in the current. Crews used their Zodiac Boat to rescue those people. 
 
A short time later, another person, attempting to retrieve a loose inner tube also got caught up and needed to be rescued.
 
The three people tubing were all wearing life jackets.
 
Firefighters are reminding anyone heading out on the water for the holiday weekend to wear life jackets and know the waters ahead of time.
 
"Right now with all the rain we've had, the river is up and the currents are stronger than normal and it's deceiving," said Capt. Craig Henry. "What you see on top as a current may get worse underneath."
 
City of Oconto Parks and Recreation expects the bodies of water in the area to be busy over the holiday weekend, with area campgrounds almost completely full.
 
"Enjoy the weekend, but just try to always think safety first," said John Bostedt, Oconto Parks and Rec Director. "The big thing about a weekend like this is you want everybody to come out and have a great time and enjoy themselves, but the worst thing would be to have an accident or someone get hurt."
 
No one was injured in the rescue on Wednesday.