WRAL.com⁠44%

5 dead in attempt to save a struggling swimmer in an Ohio river, sheriff says ⁠11%

By The Associated Press⁠63%

7/20/2026, 7:38:12 PM

BS Summary: This article contains 13 faulty reasoning types, including Anchoring Bias, Recency Bias, and Post Hoc (False Cause), with Indoctrination as the most egregious example at 12.1% saturation with 46 hits. Analysis detected 297 faulty-reasoning hits from 380 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 27.5% and a BS Rank of ⁠11% (19,008 of 21,180 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 89.70% of the article peer group.

POWELL, Ohio (AP) — Five people have died on a river in Ohio after several of them went into the water to help another person who was struggling to swim, authorities said Monday. 
The group had gathered Sunday along the Scioto River in the Columbus suburb of Powell when one of them went into the river for a swim. 
“That’s when the tragedy started to occur,” Delaware County Sheriff Jeffrey Balzer said at a news conference. 
He said others who jumped in to help also began struggling. 
A motorist called 911 after spotting a frightened child with the group who was running along a nearby road to seek help, Balzer said. 
Rescue crews searching the water later Sunday found two women who were pronounced dead at a hospital, Balzer said. 
The bodies of three men were found in the river on Monday, said Tracy Whited, a spokesperson for the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office. 
Authorities did not say exactly where the victims were found. 
The river was running high and fast on Sunday, according to data from a U.S. 
Geological Survey water gauge at the nearby dam. 
The data shows the water was flowing at a rate of about 350 cubic feet (10 cubic meters) per second on Sunday — more than a fourfold increase over a three-day span, and more than double the average rate. 
The tragedy occurred two days after five people were killed in southern Utah after a flash flood swept through scenic red rock canyons during a hiking excursion. 
The Ohio sheriff said the child who ran for help, prompting the 911 call, has been placed in the care of family services along with another child under the age of 10. 
Authorities were working on notifying relatives of the victims, he said. 
Balzer said people who gather near water must be aware of the conditions and take precautions. 
“Know your skill level before you get in the water. 
Are you a confident swimmer?” 
Balzer said. 
“Make sure you have other people around in case something goes wrong to notify someone.” 
___ 
This story has been updated to correct that it is the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office, not the Delaware County Sheriff’s Department. 
Article reasoning-pattern comparisonThis article: 0.0%The Associated Press: 2.7%WRAL: 3.2%Confirmation Bias0.0%This article: 10.3%The Associated Press: 1.4%WRAL: 1.2%Anchoring Bias10.3%This article: 6.3%The Associated Press: 3.2%WRAL: 3.1%Availability Heuristic6.3%This article: 0.0%The Associated Press: 0.8%WRAL: 0.6%Representativeness Heuristic0.0%This article: 0.0%The Associated Press: 0.6%WRAL: 0.1%Hindsight Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%The Associated Press: 1.8%WRAL: 1.0%Overconfidence Bias0.0%This article: 3.9%The Associated Press: 11.2%WRAL: 6.7%Framing Effect3.9%This article: 0.0%The Associated Press: 0.6%WRAL: 0.1%Loss Aversion0.0%This article: 0.0%The Associated Press: 0.7%WRAL: 0.4%Status Quo Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%The Associated Press: 0.1%WRAL: 0.0%Sunk Cost Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%The Associated Press: 3.0%WRAL: 1.7%Optimism Bias0.0%This article: 4.2%The Associated Press: 1.7%WRAL: 2.0%Pessimism Bias4.2%This article: 4.5%The Associated Press: 10.9%WRAL: 6.9%Negativity Bias4.5%This article: 0.0%The Associated Press: 2.2%WRAL: 3.4%Self-Serving Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%The Associated Press: 1.2%WRAL: 0.9%Fundamental Attribution Error0.0%This article: 0.0%The Associated Press: 0.2%WRAL: 0.2%Actor-Observer Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%The Associated Press: 2.1%WRAL: 1.1%In-Group Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%The Associated Press: 1.0%WRAL: 0.3%Out-Group Homogeneity Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%The Associated Press: 2.0%WRAL: 1.2%Halo Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%The Associated Press: 0.1%WRAL: 0.3%Horn Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%The Associated Press: 0.0%WRAL: 0.0%Dunning-Kruger Effect0.0%This article: 7.1%The Associated Press: 2.0%WRAL: 1.4%Recency Bias7.1%This article: 0.0%The Associated Press: 0.4%WRAL: 0.1%Primacy Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%The Associated Press: 0.1%WRAL: 0.0%Blind-Spot Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%The Associated Press: 0.9%WRAL: 0.4%Ad Hominem0.0%This article: 0.0%The Associated Press: 0.2%WRAL: 0.0%Straw Man0.0%This article: 6.1%The Associated Press: 3.8%WRAL: 2.6%Appeal to Authority6.1%This article: 1.3%The Associated Press: 1.2%WRAL: 1.0%False Dilemma1.3%This article: 0.0%The Associated Press: 0.8%WRAL: 1.0%Slippery Slope0.0%This article: 0.0%The Associated Press: 0.1%WRAL: 0.1%Circular Reasoning0.0%This article: 0.0%The Associated Press: 3.0%WRAL: 3.1%Hasty Generalization0.0%This article: 0.0%The Associated Press: 0.4%WRAL: 0.4%Red Herring0.0%This article: 0.0%The Associated Press: 0.5%WRAL: 0.2%Bandwagon0.0%This article: 4.5%The Associated Press: 5.5%WRAL: 3.9%Appeal to Emotion4.5%This article: 0.0%The Associated Press: 0.8%WRAL: 0.7%Begging the Question0.0%This article: 7.1%The Associated Press: 2.9%WRAL: 2.5%Post Hoc (False Cause)7.1%This article: 0.0%The Associated Press: 0.1%WRAL: 0.1%Tu Quoque0.0%This article: 0.0%The Associated Press: 0.5%WRAL: 0.4%Burden of Proof0.0%This article: 0.0%The Associated Press: 0.1%WRAL: 0.1%Appeal to Nature0.0%This article: 0.0%The Associated Press: 0.1%WRAL: 0.1%Composition/Division0.0%This article: 6.3%The Associated Press: 1.3%WRAL: 1.4%Anecdotal6.3%This article: 0.0%The Associated Press: 0.0%WRAL: 0.0%No True Scotsman0.0%This article: 0.0%The Associated Press: 1.7%WRAL: 1.3%Ambiguity (Equivocation)0.0%This article: 0.0%The Associated Press: 0.0%WRAL: 0.0%Gambler’s Fallacy0.0%This article: 0.0%The Associated Press: 0.1%WRAL: 0.1%Middle Ground0.0%This article: 0.0%The Associated Press: 0.1%WRAL: 0.3%Personal Incredulity0.0%This article: 0.0%The Associated Press: 0.2%WRAL: 0.5%Special Pleading0.0%This article: 0.0%The Associated Press: 0.2%WRAL: 0.1%Genetic Fallacy0.0%This article: 0.0%The Associated Press: 1.8%WRAL: 2.1%Unattributed Quote0.0%This article: 0.0%The Associated Press: 1.2%WRAL: 0.5%Quote-first Misdirection0.0%This article: 4.5%The Associated Press: 3.9%WRAL: 3.8%Biased Writer Voice4.5%This article: 12.1%The Associated Press: 0.7%WRAL: 0.9%Indoctrination12.1%This article: 0.0%The Associated Press: 0.8%WRAL: 0.2%Politically Left Leaning Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%The Associated Press: 0.2%WRAL: 0.2%Politically Right Leaning Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%The Associated Press: 0.4%WRAL: 0.1%Attempt to Sell a Product or S…0.0%

380 words analyzed.

Speakers

2speakers37%attributed speech238writer words
Voice mapSelect a segment to jump to its words
Writer's voice • 15 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 33 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 26 words • 0.0% coverageJeffrey Balzer • 17 words • 100.0% coverageJeffrey Balzer • 11 words • 0.0% coverageJeffrey Balzer • 24 words • 0.0% coverageJeffrey Balzer • 19 words • 0.0% coverageTracy Whited • 23 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 10 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 15 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 8 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 39 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 27 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 32 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 11 words • 0.0% coverageJeffrey Balzer • 16 words • 100.0% coverageJeffrey Balzer • 10 words • 100.0% coverageJeffrey Balzer • 5 words • 100.0% coverageJeffrey Balzer • 2 words • 0.0% coverageJeffrey Balzer • 15 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 1 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 21 words • 0.0% coverage
Selected voice

Jeffrey Balzer

73%flagged-word coverage
119 attributed words84% of attributed speech44% writer coverage
0%20.0%40.0%Indoctrination+38.7 ptsWriter: 0.0%Jeffrey Balzer: 38.7%38.7%Biased Writer Voice+14.3 ptsWriter: 0.0%Jeffrey Balzer: 14.3%14.3%

Attribution is sentence-level. Pattern percentages are calculated only from words assigned to that voice.

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Analysis

Hover over highlighted words in the article to view the associated bias or fallacy analysis.