The children were taken to Bantas Fork Creek in West Alexandria as part of a church group for lessons on nature.
A 7-foot crocodile was spotted swimming in an Ohio creek where 16 kids under the age of 11 had been playing.
The terrifying scene happened at Bantas Fork Creek in West Alexandria, where a group of kids between first and sixth grade with a church group had gone that day to study nature as a part of their religious lessons.
“[Someone] saw something in the water, a shadowy object moving, and he yelled down to the person on that side of the bridge and shouted, ‘Get the kids out of the water,’” Rick Turnbull said in an interview with CNN. He helps teach the children in the group.
He said the 171-pound crocodile was probably about 20 feet away from where they were playing by the time they all got out of the water.
Wildlife officers, who arrived on the scene and shot the animal, said crocodiles are not native to Ohio and it was most likely a pet that was dumped in the creek because it got too big.
Rich Denius, whose son was in the water at the time, said the fact that the kids got out safely was proof that Jesus was looking after the kids.
"It was wild that we'd had a lesson about predators lurking in the shadows," Turnbull said. "It's a lesson that these kids will never forget.”
RELATED STORIES
