Sgt. John Urquhart reported the King County Sheriff’s office rescued five people rafting on the Green River at 4:40 a.m. Wednesday.

The rafters were taken from the river by Guardian One, the department’s helicopter.

Urquhart wrote in a release the incident began at 3 p.m. Tuesday when the six young people, one female and five males, decided to float down the river on an air mattress from Flaming Geyser Park.

The five rescued were four males and the female. They were in their early 20s.

The six became hung up on a logjam while floating down the river.

According to the release the six “managed to make it to the south shore, and one (male) got to the north shore where he hiked through brush, eventually making it to the Green Valley Road. He got a ride to his car parked at a boat launch near the Auburn-Black Diamond Road and decided to sleep in his car for the night.”

The five who were eventually rescued by Guardian One slept on the shore.

“They were pretty cold by the time we got to them,” Urquhart said by phone.

They had built a fire to keep warm enough to avoid hypothermia.

The mother of one of the rafters came to Flaming Geyser Park at 1 a.m. Wednesday and found her son’s car and called the Sheriff’s office.

Guardian One went into the air and quickly found the five. The sixth one, a male, was found sleeping in his car by a deputy.

According to police officials the six were unhurt and are back with their families.