Injured swimmer rescued in Taylorsville MetroPark

UPDATE @ 5:53 p.m.

A 13-year-old girl who suffered a “significant” arm injury had to be rescued this afternoon when she was stuck in a drainage tile surrounded by water in the Taylorsville MetroPark.

Vandalia Fire Chief Chad Follick said the girl and a few other teens were swimming in a tributary of the Great Miami River, located in a restricted, wooded area off the bike trail in the north part of the park.

“There’s a drainage tile there and it appears they were jumping off the drainage tile and swimming,” the chief said. “When she jumped off she struck either the bridge drainage tile or the bottom of the area she was swimming in.”

The drainage tile is about 15 feet above the water. After the girl was injured, a friend pulled her back into the drainage tile, Follick said.

“She has a pretty significant injury to her arm and wasn’t able to move,” Follick said. “We had to get enough crew here and enough equipment here to make that rescue happen.”

Follick said it took nearly an hour for crews to reach the area and to be properly equipped to rescue the girl.

With the assistance of Huber Heights and Butler Twp. fire departments, rescuers floated a boat across the water, loaded the girl into the boat and then brought her out on an all-terrain vehicle to a waiting ambulance. The girl was taken to Dayton Children’s Hospital, he said.

The river and areas along the park are not designated, safe swimming areas, and a sign at the end of the trail alerts people to stay out of the area, said Follick, who noted that Vandalia police were called out to the river at the park Thursday night on a report of juveniles swimming.

It is not clear whether the girl and others who were swimming in the restricted area will be charged.

UPDATE @ 4:40 p.m.

A teen has been rescued after she was stuck in a tunnel in a pond in the Taylorsville MetroPark.

The girl was with at least three other teens who were swimming and jumping off a culvert pipe into the water. The girl who became stuck in a tunnel near the dam suffered a broken arm. She was conscious, according to a park ranger.

The water is described as a tributary pond off the Great Miami River in the park.

It is not permitted to swim in the area, but it’s not clear whether the teens will face charges.

FIRST REPORT

Boats are being launched this afternoon to rescue a teen stuck in the Great Miami River in a tunnel near the dam in the Taylorsville MetroPark.

The incident was reported around 3:45 p.m. today.

The girl is above water but is stuck. She reportedly was with others who decided to jump from a drainage pipe into the water before she became stuck in a tunnel, according to initial reports.

Boats are arriving from Huber Heights and Butler Twp., and a four-wheeler also was dispatched to the scene.

We are on the way and will update this report as we learn details.