Three kayakers go over Noccalula Falls
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ETOWAH COUNTY, AL (WBRC)-
"I'd like to report some crazy people going over the falls."
And with that 911 call, Noccalula Falls supervisor Janet Tarrance brought the police to the park Monday after three kayakers went over the 90-foot falls, on purpose. The three North Carolina men were unharmed.
Still, it has Gadsden Parks and Recreation officials re-evaluating city ordinances and even considering future arrests.
"If we catch anyone doing that we will call the police and have them arrested," Parks and Recreation director Kerry Payne told Fox6. "They could have been killed, severely injured. They said they were professionals, but we still don't allow professionals, amateurs or anyone and we discourage it."
Payne said he and Gadsden police arrived on the scene Monday afternoon just in time to see the three kayakers get their boats out of the water. A fourth kayaker worked the bottom gorge in case any of the other three got into trouble.
Payne says the three were told to take their kayaks and leave the property. They were not charged.
Pat Keller, Isaac Levinson and Chris Gragtmans went over one at a time Monday afternoon. Crews took photos and video of the jump, and the three plan to release it as part of a documentary, "Watershed: Land of Giants," debuting online on or before Dec. 24.
Mitchell Stewart, a Gadsden area kayaker who owns Coosa Outfitters downtown, says the three were professionals who likely studied the area extensively before they showed up unannounced Monday afternoon.
"You definitely want to be a professional diong this, I would not recommend it to anybody that did not fully understand the consequences and was not advanced to that level that these gentlemen were," says Stewart.