HANCOCK COUNTY — It was supposed to be a graduation celebration for a Henry County girl, a recent graduate from Tri Junior-Senior High School, and a few of her close friends.
The night of camping, cards and fun turned into a water rescue after heavy rains flooded the cabin area where the group was staying at the Hoosier Youth Challenge Academy property, near the 8500 block of 300 South, Carthage.
Officials with the Department of Natural Resources, Hancock County Joint Technical Rescue Team consisting of members from the Greenfield Fire Territory, and Sugar Creek Fire Township, along with help from officials with the Charlottesville and Fountaintown Fire Departments, and Hancock County Sheriff’s Department, got the call around 11:15 p.m. Saturday.
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The first-responders rescued four juveniles and the mother of the girl having the party after midnight, when flood waters got too close and made it unsafe for them to leave the cabin on their own.
Christy Cashdollar, Henry County, her daughter, and three other teenagers, were enjoying a game of cards in the cabin late Saturday night after the open house celebration had wound down, Cashdollar said.
That’s when one of the moms of a teen who had attended the graduation party was coming to pick her child up, but called the group in the cabin to say she couldn’t reach them because of high, rushing water blocking the drive.
“We went down to look and at that point it was flooded, around our ankles, but it was fast-moving water,” Cashdollar said.
Cashdollar thought it might be wise to at least let law enforcement know there were several people in the building so she called 911, she said. The call went to Rush County officials, who said since the group was not in immediate danger there was nothing they could do.
However, Cashdollar’s father, a former Indiana State Police officer, who she had called, did some research and found the property they were staying on was in Hancock County and reached out to county officials for help.
“By that time, I was getting really concerned because the water was rising very steadily,” Cashdollar said.
Upon arrival, officials from the rescue team discovered the building, which was located approximately 1/4 mile off the main roadway, was surrounded by floodwaters from nearby Six Mile Creek, said David Moss, DNR, media relations officer said.
“The only access in or out of the home was under multiple feet of swift-moving water” Moss said.
Using a boat and swift-water rescue equipment, the first-responders reached the structure and rescued the five with floodwaters only feet from reaching the cabin.
“With the rains we were getting there’s no telling when it was going to go down,” Moss said. “They did the right thing calling emergency personnel to come and help them.”
The remote building had a second level, so Cashdollar said she was never in fear of them being swept away or getting killed by the rushing flood. But, she wished there had been life jackets or a safety flotation device in the building which she had rented for the night from officials at the HYCA.
As the water kept rising, Cashdollar said she began thinking about the what if’s in a situation like this, such as, what if the building couldn’t handle the rushing water, or what if one of the teens had a medical issue?
“I just thought, ‘we need to get out of here,’” Cashdollar said.
The scariest part of the late night rescue came when first-responders started taking the occupants of the cabin out and crossing the rushing water in the boat. Cashdollar said officials were working hard, walking the boat through pretty dangerous water, but never wavered until everyone was safe.
“That was a big job for them and I was getting concerned for their safety,” Cashdollar said. “We can’t thank them enough.”
Scott Johnson, who worked the scene along with Scott McDaniel, Indiana conservation officers, said they are often called upon to respond to situations like this due to the specialized training they have for these types of incidents and are accustomed to working in the type of conditions they encountered.
Cashdollar was also proud of the young teenagers, including her daughter, for keeping level heads as they moved their belonging to the second floor while waiting for the first-responders to rescue them, she said.
While no one was injured, Cashdollar said the two vehicles they’d driven to the cabin are probably a loss due to the high water, however, she won’t be sure until she can get back to the property once the water recedes.
There’s one thing for certain, Cashdollar said. Her daughter will forever remember her graduation party.
“Let’s hope it was a once in a lifetime experience,” she said.
