Two children, ages 3 and 5, hospitalized after canoe capsized in river in Franklin

Mar. 2—Two children, ages 3 and 5, were hospitalized Friday after the canoe their father was paddling capsized in frigid winter waters in downtown Franklin. One child, who was not breathing and whose heart had stopped, was airlifted for life-saving measures. The father, Michael Stewart, 28, was charged with operating the boat while intoxicated.

Franklin Police received a call around 4 p.m. Friday that an unidentified man in the area of Franklin Public Library was screaming for someone to call 911, officials said in a Friday news release. The man, later identified as Stewart of West Bow Street, appeared to be wet, according to reports.

Rescuers learned that the Stewart had been canoeing with his two young children on the Winnipesaukee River when the canoe capsized and all three occupants were dumped into the water, the release said.

Franklin Police Sgt. Forrest Walker responded, entering the water and seizing both children before handing them off to another officer, according to reports.

The children were then treated by city fire and EMS. One child whose heart had stopped and was not breathing, according to fire officials, was taken by helicopter to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon. The other child was treated locally at Concord Hospital at Franklin, the release said.

The child being treated in Franklin was conscious and interactive, police said Friday evening, while the child at DHMC was still undergoing treatment.

According to a Saturday morning Facebook post from an account matching the mother's name, the child at DHMC was showing no signs of brain or heart damage but was sedated and receiving oxygen assistance.

Sgt. Walker was treated for hypothermia and released.

No additional charges had been filed against Stewart and the incident was still under investigation, Franklin Police Lt. Dan Poirier said Saturday.