Mother, son rescued after canoe capsizes

A mother and son canoeing on the Missouri River downstream of Morony Dam on Sunday afternoon ran into trouble in the “Big Eddy” area.

The canoe hit an eddy and “went down” about a mile-and-a-half downstream of the dam, Cascade County Sheriff’s Office Cpl. Jay Groskreutz said.

Groskreutz said both mother and son were able to make it to shore after capsizing. Hikers heard them yelling and called 911.

When Groskreutz arrived at the scene, he said the son had just been able to make it up the steep bank to the trailhead. The mother was lifted up the bank by Mercy Flight.

Both mother and son were wearing life jackets and there were no reported injuries, Groskreutz said.

This is not the first time the “Big Eddy” has caught a boater unawares. In 2010, a man and son escaped after their boat was caught in the eddy and overturned.

That boat is still down there. Groskreutz said that because of the strong current, authorities have not been able to remove it.

The “Big Eddy” is a hydraulic feature of the Missouri that notoriously difficult to successfully navigate. It has claimed several lives over the past couple of decades.

And the time of year makes a difference, too. “Low water time of year is worse than high water time,” Groskreutz said.