January 16
One of the rescued boaters filmed their adventures–including while airborne!–and has posted a six-minute video on Vimeo:
 

January 12
On Sunday, January 10, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol and the Raleigh Fire Department performed a helicopter rescue of two kayakers who capsized on the Cape Fear River in Lee County. They were acting as a state-activated rescue team, part of the North Carolina Helo-Aquatic Rescue Team program. (NC HART, that pairs local rescue technicians with helicopters from the Highway Patrol or the National Guard.)

The boaters were upended after going over “unusually high and turbulent” waters at Buckhorn Dam, which is located approximately two miles east of Highway 42. They were able to swim to a large rock in the middle of the river about a mile downstream (south) from the dam. Once they climbed onto the rock, they called 911 for help. (A third was able to return to his kayak and did not require rescue.)

Cape Fear FD, Lee County EMS, and Lee County Emergency Management responded, along with Moncure FD from Chatham County, who in turn requested a swift water rescue team from the Apex FD in Wake County. Once visual contact was made with the trapped boaters, officials noted the dangerous conditions of the river and contacted state authorities for air assistance. (The swift water team continued to the scene, as a stand by resource.)

At 1:30 p.m., North Carolina Emergency Management requested help from the Patrol’s Aviation Unit and Raleigh’s HART members. The Raleigh-based aircrew consisted of Trooper M. Horner, Trooper R. Coolie, Lt. Darrell Adams, and Senior Firefighter Jason Ceisner. They used a short-haul rescue technique which packaged each survivor in a “screamer suit” and lifted them to EMS personnel who were waiting a nearby landing zone, located approximately 3,000 feet down river on the south banks.

All three boaters–men in their mid-twenties–were examined and released by medical personnel on scene. They were unharmed.

Within two and a half hours of the original 911 call, the HART team had been activated and deployed. Total flight time was fifty-five minutes from the helicopter leaving Raleigh to the extrication of the second survivor. Total extrication time was approximately fifteen minutes upon arrival. The flight distance from the NC SHP hanger to the landing zone was 22 miles.

[Read press release] from the NC Department of Public Safety. They also posted these pictures on their Facebook page:

North Carolina Department of Public Safety photos