NORTH READING, Mass. --
Two young women canoeing in their back yard were swept away Wednesday, triggering a frantic rescue mission.
The Ipswich River in North Reading took Amanda Mauro, 26, and her 15-year-old cousin, Tiffany Peck, by surprise. Mauro was shivering too hard to talk Wednesday night, but relatives said the two were capsized in the cold, rushing water.
"The kids were floating around in the back yard,because of the overflow, and the current took them down to the river," said Gregory Peck, Tiffany's father.
"The boat hit a branch or something and it flipped over, and my daughter got dragged down the water by the canoe," said Mauro's mother, Cindy.
Amanda Mauro broke free and managed to quickly swim to shore. Peck wound up in the middle of the river, clinging to a tree for life.
"She fell onto a dead tree and fortunately had to the sense to grab onto it and hang onto it," Peck said.
North Reading firefighters were faced with a risky rescue in the swollen, debris-filled water.
"She was on the opposite side of the river, the current was very strong, (we) tried crossing (but it was a) failed attempt. We went across again, she was able to climb on top of me ... I went under a little bit and my rope got caught under a tree," North Reading firefighter Mike Tannian said.
In the end, Peck was pulled to safety. Relatives said both she and Amanda Mauro -- a mother of three young children -- were recovering from hypothermia at a nearby hospital.
"She's good. She says she's still cold. That water was cold," said Cindy Mauro.
Authorities warned residents to stay away from swollen rivers because the currents are more swift and more dangerous than they may appear.
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