Kayakers Rescue Teen Swept Up in the Chattahoochee

SUWANEE, GA -- A pair of kayakers enjoying Memorial Day weekend on the Chattahoochee may have saved the life of a teen at risk of drowning in the river.

On Friday, Gwinnett County firefighters were called at 5:48 p.m. to a report of a 15 year old who got lost on the river near Settles Bridge Park near Suwanee.

The caller told authorities that the teen was last seen being carried downstream by the current.

The Gwinnett Fire Swiftwater Rescue Team responded and launched a rescue boat.

But it was two civilian kayakers who saw the male teenager at about 6:08 p.m.

They helped him to shore behind a private home in the Olde Atlanta Golf Club, on the Forsyth County side of the river. Residents of the subdivision flagged down a Gwinnett County Police helicopter and helped a fire department boat to pinpoint the victim's location.

The whole ordeal was over by 6:15 p.m.

An EMS team evaluated the teen for exposure and he was taken to Northside Forsyth Hospital.

According to emergency officials, the teen and two other people had been jumping off of an old bridge into the river. The two others made it out of the water safely, but the victim wasn't able to get out and was pushed downstream by the current.

Water from Buford Dam was being released into the river on Friday, making the current stronger.

"We are extremely fortunate that the two kayakers were in the right-place at the right-time and that residents in the subdivision also sprang into action," said Gwinnett Fire Captain Tommy Rutledge.

(Photo courtesy Gwinnett County Fire & Emergency Services)