Secaucus: Mother, Kids Rescued While Kayaking In Hackensack River

SECAUCUS, NJ — If you happened to be at Laurel Hill Park Monday evening (Memorial Day) and noticed a large police presence, it was Secaucus volunteer firefighters, police and the Hudson County sheriff responding to a kayak rescue.

A mother and her two children, ages 13 and 11, had to be rescued while kayaking at sunset in the Hackensack River, according to Secaucus Police Chief Dennis Miller.

At 7:29 p.m., Secaucus police received a 911 call that the woman and her children were stuck in two kayaks on the river. While it's not exactly clear what happened, they had to be towed to shore by Secaucus fire and police. Witnesses could see the boys being covered by towels once they safely reached the dock at Laurel Hill Park.

They appeared to be using inflatable kayaks. There were no injuries reported and everyone was safely brought back to shore by the Secaucus fire department. The woman and her sons did not require medical attention.

Just last summer, the Secaucus fire department unveiled this new boat, to be used exactly for rescues such as this. The boat was purchased through a $346,410 FEMA Port Security grant, which was secured by Rep. Bill Pascrell, this area's longtime Democratic congressman.

The Hudson County Sheriff also responded, as Laurel Hill is a county park.

*Patch originally reported it was two boys. We do not actually know the gender of her children.