Had they been eating hard boiled eggs and cabbage?
Something happened. The event itself appears unlikely, yet it happened. Toxic algae may be a possibility....who knows?
An air inversion could trap gas near the surface in an area, weather conditions would need to be just right with little to no wind for that to happen. Heavier than air gas could travel quite a ways and settle in a low lying area, once the wind picked up there would be very little evidence that it ever happened.
Toxic algae seems unlikely unless all four of them had been drinking directly out of the river.
Remember why, specifically, the Bill of Rights was written...remember its purpose. It was written to limit the power of government over the individual.
There is no believing a liar, even when he speaks the truth.
