DENTON, Md.- A Maryland State Police Aviation Command helicopter on Thursday rescued a kayaker stranded in a mud-laden portion of the Choptank River in Caroline County.
The crew from Trooper 6, assigned to the Easton Section, responded to the area of the 10000 block of River Road shortly before 1:30 p.m. They were summoned to conduct the aerial rescue, after Caroline County emergency responders were called for the kayaker, who became stranded along the shallow, silt-filled area of the Choptank River near Chapel Creek north of Denton.
Police said that the kayaker, a man whose name has not been released, became stranded along the shoreline and was unable to return to navigable waters of the river. Caroline County Department of Emergency Services contacted SYSCOM and requested the Maryland State Police Aviation Command to conduct the precarious rescue, noting fire company boats could not reach the kayaker. At the time, the water temperature for the Choptank River was approximately 44 degrees Fahrenheit.
Once at the scene, the MSP helicopter crew established communications with ground rescuers, who relayed directions to the stranded kayaker. The trooper paramedics lowered an empty rescue basket to the uninjured kayaker. As directed by rescuers and the trooper paramedics, the kayaker climbed inside the basket and was safely hoisted 75 feet to the hovering aircraft. The kayaker was delivered to awaiting emergency medical personnel at the river’s edge.
The kayaker refused medical attention, according to Caroline County DES.