Two teen-age sisters — ages 17 and 18 — and an 11-year-old friend were pulled from the Stanislaus River Saturday evening by Ripon firefighters after floating aimlessly for some four hours.

The girls from Denair and Stockton had been picnicking with family members at Stouffer Park on the east side of Ripon when they decided to go rafting. They were found to be missing at about 7 p.m. by their family.  They were located near the Jack Tone Golf Course on the river at about 11 p.m. by a Ripon Fire Department Boat Crew.

The Manteca Fire Department boat crew answered a mutual aid call into the search as well. Manteca launched their craft near the Highway 99 bridge and headed down stream after Ripon launched from Stouffer Park area.    Family members were quoted as saying the girls didn’t know how to swim and that they weren’t immediately recognized as missing from the park.

Area fire departments have long offered the use of life vests to anyone planning to go into the river to limit the numbers of drownings they have witnessed in the fast and cold waters of the Stanislaus River.  Ripon Police officers had also been called out in the search for the three girls.

To contact Glenn Kahl, email gkahl@mantecabulletin.com.