2 men trying for eagle photo rescued from mudflats

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Two men who got stuck waist-deep in mudflats off Alaska's Kenai Peninsula as they attempted to photograph an eagle were rescued before the tide came in.

KTUU-TV reports (http://is.gd/hu6bcn) John Prince of Little Rock, Arkansas, and William Shannon of La Porte, Indiana, had ventured out onto the mudflats in Kasilof (KUH'-see-lahf) late Thursday.

Alaska State Troopers say they made it about 500 feet onto the flats before they got stuck in the mud.

Troopers say they were buried above their waists, and couldn't get out of the muck. A third man who was with them called for help.

Rescuers got the men out about 12:30 a.m. Friday, just as the tide was coming back in.

Troopers say both men refused medical treatment and didn't report any injuries.

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Information from: KTUU-TV, http://www.ktuu.com

Alaska State TroopersmudflatsKTUU-TV

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Prom photo session a downer after bridge collapse

Alisha White, a senior at Pierce High School in Nebraska, was excited about her prom but never thought that a photo session on the big day would result in a soggy ending.

The group of 22 prom-goers posing for photos. (KTIV)

As reported by KTIV News 4 and US92 Radio, Alisha asked her father, Andy White, for permission to invite a big group of friends over to take pictures at their house. Her father agreed and recounts, "They decided to come and get a picture on a couple of the bridges here and they didn't opt for the more sturdy one. And they got about 21 or 22 of them on this back one and it turned out to be a little bit too much weight." Yep, the 22 prom-goers caused the bridge to collapse and the group ended up in the four-foot-deep pond below. A few suffered minor scrapes, but there were no serious injuries.

After the bridge collapse. (KTIV)

The prom party was drenched and still very understanding. Alisha told the station, "The first thing I thought about when I went in the water was, 'Oh my gosh everyone’s going to be so mad at me.' Like, this is my fault because I planned this and that made me like, super upset. But then everyone was just really nice about it and they were like, ‘It’s not your fault. You didn't know that was going to happen. There was nothing you can do.’"

With all the cameras in place, photos captured of the entire bridge collapse and aftermath.

After the prom, Pierce, Nebraska became the home of some new ‘celebrities.’ Lane Rohrich, one of the teens, tweeted photos of the group’s debacle and their story quickly spread.

Yesterday was our senior prom. We lined up for our pictures on a bridge & it collapsed and we all fell in the creek.. pic.twitter.com/p9OuMnHYkX

— Lane Rohrich (@rohRICHBOY_1) April 6, 2014

So, in addition to a lesson in bridge physics, the high schoolers learned a valuable lesson about the power of social media. Within minutes Rohrich had 35 retweets, which then jumped to 3,000 only two hours later. Currently it has been retweeted over 50,000 times.

Rohrich said, "Everyone really needs to be careful what they put on the internet because there’s always a way to get to it. And I mean, just be safe about everything and you’ll be fine."

And always choose the sturdy bridge.

Video and more info: KTIV and US92

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