Sherman Township, MICH., (WWJ) A Good Samaritan is being hailed a hero for reporting a man in a canoe who drifted off course in Sherman Township, about 50 miles north of Grand Rapids.
The Huron County Sheriff said the Huron County Dispatch received a 911 call around noon Saturday about a person in a canoe about a mile offshore of Wagener Park, possibly in distress.
The call came from the Good Samaritan, who had been watching as the west wind strengthened, and believed the canoeist to be in trouble.
A sergeant from the Huron County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene with a 30-foot patrol boat. Harbor Beach firefighters also launched a rescue boat. By this time, the canoeist was about 2 miles offshore, the Sheriff said.
The Caro Twp. man, 36, was pulled aboard the rescue boat and brought back to shore without any injuries.
“(He) is very fortunate that someone on shore had taken note of him because he had no way to call for help being he had no cellular phone,” the Sheriff’s Office said.
They said the lake can be deceiving—as winds coming from offshore can make the water appear like it’s the right conditions for paddle sports “when in fact it doesn’t take long not far offshore before the wind strength increases to the point that you’ll be overcome.”
The Huron County Sheriff’s said to make sure you always have a lifejacket and a cell phone, preferably in a watertight bag, and let people know where you’re going before you hit the water.