Local Girl Narrowly Escapes Being Swept Over Waterfall

A 12-year-old girl from Milford was rescued by a bystander on Monday after falling into the Swift River in Albany and nearly being swept over a waterfall.

New Hampshire Fish and Game said the girl slipped off a rock and was swept down the river about 150 feet to the top of the Lower Falls, where she was able to grab onto a rock and hold on against the current.

James Barnhouse of Northeast Dover, Ohio, a bystander, was able to make his way to the girl's position in the river and stabilize her, helping her to the other side of the river.

At the Lower Falls, the river falls about 15 feet, rushing over rocky, cragged surfaces, according to a Fish and Game press release.

Fish and Game and Conway Fire Department personnel helped rescue the stranded pair from the woods. The girl was in good condition and was able to walk to the rescue vehicle.

Alexander Lopashanski, a Fish and Game conservation officer, said the site where the girl slipped is a common place to swim, and the river is not especially high right now. But even at three to four feet of depth, he said it has a great deal of force due to the drop in elevation.

The Swift River is located in the Mount Washington Valley, and flows east along the Kancamangus Highway for 26 miles through the towns of Livermore, Waterville Valley and Albany before joining the Saco River in Conway.