Two girls were reunited with their mother on Thursday after being separated from her on the water, causing concern. A large search operation was launched at Audubon Acres to help find the girls.
Around 2:15 p.m., members of the Chattanooga Fire Department were dispatched to 900 North Sanctuary Road for a water rescue. According to the mother, a seven-year-old girl and 14-year-old girl went into the water around noon on floats wearing life jackets, but they did not come out of the water an hour later when they were all supposed to meet up at a kayak launch/pull out spot.
The East Ridge Fire Department was notified and put kayaks in the water to help with the search. Other civilian kayakers assisted authorities as well. Police officers from Chattanooga and East Ridge went to different locations, checking for the girls on trails. The drone unit from Hamilton County EMA responded, along with HCEMS. Crews continued searching on land and water.
Around 3:20 p.m., their mother got a call from one of the girls saying she was with a golfer on Hole 4 at Brown Acres Golf Course. The golfer was kind enough to take the girls on his golf cart to the clubhouse where officers reunited them with their mom. They were not injured.
They passed their pickup point on their floats, but they ultimately managed to get out of the water on their own and sought help.
“All of the agencies worked really well together on this incident and we appreciate everyone’s help. We are so glad these children are safe,” said Captain Chris Fryar, who was part of the unified command. Quint 21 and Battalion 2 (Green Shift) responded, along with CFD Special Operations.