When watching the news on television in the summer, it is somewhat common in Tennessee to hear of boating accidents. Last Saturday proved to be one of those fateful days when news of the disappearance of loved ones struck home.
“We didn’t have anything else to do,” said Andrew Woodard, one of the lost men. “We decided to go kayaking. So, we went up to the Slab and put in the water around 1 p.m. on Saturday.”
Carrie Jo Smith, who along with her husband, Kent Smith, has owned The Slab by the Barren on the Monroe County, Kentucky/Macon County border for a few years now. She headed a search and rescue operation by kayak from the Slab Crews Ford boat ramp early Sunday morning.
“They did what any experienced kayaker wouldn’t do,” said Smith. “That is, they put in late in the day instead of early in the morning.”
Woodard said, “I guess we knew we were in trouble about the fifth time I flipped my kayak. Both of our kayaks started to take on water. We just tried to keep emptying them to stay afloat. It eventually became so dark that we couldn’t see. So, we had to get ashore and spend the night out there. I think we might have slept an hour. When the sun came up, we decided to move on in one kayak. I pulled one ashore and left it. They found that one first. Logan went ahead in the kayak, and I went by land to try and catch up to him.”
Smith recalls getting the initial call about the missing men.
“I got a call on Saturday night, and they informed me that two guys were missing,” said Smith. “I went down to see if their vehicle was still where they put into the water and it was. I then called Allen County Sheriff’s Department to let them know we had two people lost on the water. We knew that they were in the section between the river bridge on 87 and here at the boat ramp because we had kayakers search the upper area. Jordan Rogers and I put in around 6 a.m. at Crews Ford Ramp, and I think it was around 6:30 when we found them.”
When asked if they were planning to go kayaking again, Woodard and Watlington smiled, and Woodard replied, “Not for a hot minute.”
The family and friends of Woodard and Logan Watlington asked that their heartfelt thanks be expressed to everyone involved, including law enforcement agencies both in Kentucky and Tennessee. Smith says that Macon County offered their drone once it was daylight, but it wasn’t needed by the time it was available.
Authorities advise that potential kayakers be familiar with the waters and to never take a first trip without someone experienced.
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