At around 7:45 a.m. Sunday morning, the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office got a 911 call from a caller who had been camping with his family on a sandbar in the Wapsipinicon River north of Quasqueton, closest to the 2700 block of Coots Boulevard. After rainfall, the campers’ tents collapsed, and some of their tubes and kayaks floated down the river leaving the campers stranded on the sandbar.
Firefighters and Sheriff’s Deputies went to the area. The Firefighters launched a rescue boat from Iron Bridge Access, located in the 2700 block of Nolen Avenue, and found the campers farther up the river. The five stranded individuals and three dogs were saved and taken to a safe location. No one was injured.
The Quasqueton Fire Department and the Independence Fire Department helped the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office during the incident.