3 rescued in inner tube accident on Mad River used cell phone to call for help

Three young people rescued from the Mad River somehow became separated from their large, recreational inner tubes and telephoned for help when they couldn’t make it up the riverbank, Fairborn Fire Chief Mike Riley said.

It appears the three, believed to be a male and two female juveniles, were just floating down the river, the chief said.

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One of them used a cell phone to call for help when they couldn't get up the riverbank because of the rough terrain. Dispatchers in Clark County got the phone call and pinged the phone to help rescuers locate the three victims, Chief Riley said.

They had climbed onto a large tree and basically sat on it, he said, waiting for someone to come get them.

"It's hard to say how that happened," he said, when asked how the three became separated from their tubes. "They had gotten off their tubes, for whatever reason, and couldn't get out themselves."

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Chief Riley said rescuers believe the three got in on Chambersburg Road. No injuries were reported, but all three have been taken to a hospital to be checked out.

Rescue units from Greene County, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Butler Twp., Huber Heights and Bethel Twp. joined Fairborn on scene.

They were dispatched just after 4 p.m. to the area of state Route 235 and Medway Road on a report of victims hanging onto trees in the Mad River.

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