Nine Carroll County residents riding on inner tubes on the Potomac River near the confluence of the Shenandoah River close to Harpers Ferry, W.Va., were rescued yesterday as they clung to rocks in the swift current, said a spokesman for the Maryland Natural Resources Police.
John Surrick said the residents of Mount Airy and Westminster -- ages 16 to 23 -- apparently panicked as they neared the confluence about 4 p.m. He did not know if they abandoned the tubes but said they clung to rocks several yards from shore for about an hour before volunteer firefighters from Dargan and Boonsboro in Maryland and Charlestown, W.Va. -- in four power boats -- rescued them.
