http://66.225.205.104/061809-30jr.mp3
Early this afternoon, a report surfaced that 30 children and adults had been swept off a bridge in Montgomery County and were missing in the Uwharrie River. All of the people were recovered safely. And WFAE's Julie Rose reports the incident didn't quite happen as first reported. The early Internet news reports said a surge on the Uwharrie River had swept the group off the Low Water Bridge in a remote part of Montgomery County. But that seemed mysterious, since it wasn't raining at the time. The truth turned out to be much less dramatic. A church group of 24 kids ages 10 to 12 and six leaders from Stanly County were canoeing on the Uwharrie River when they got separated. One of them called 911 and emergency officials came to pull the safely from the river. Montgomery County spokeperson Laura Morton has no idea where the report came from that the group had been swept off the bridge. "It's amazing how rumors fly," she says. Perhaps someone misunderstood the fact that the group put their canoes in the water at the Low Water Bridge and took that to mean they were "swept away." Or maybe it was a matter of too many media rushing to get the story first on the web.