Thursday, March 28th, 2019
Man rescued from lake
3 teens help after boat starts to sink
By Leslie Gartrell
Photo by Dan Melograna/The Daily Standard
Montezuma Fire Department rescuers Audrey Harner, from left, Ethan Laffin and Mike Bye work to turn over a fishing boat that had capsized on Thursday afternoon. Joe Wenning was pulled from the water by bystander Robert Skiles but did not need medical treatment.
MONTEZUMA - Three teens helped pull a man from Grand Lake at Windy Point after his boat began to take on water and sink.
Robert Skiles, 19; David Roach, 19; and Justin McIntosh, 16; were getting ready to fish at Windy Point State Park when they saw Joe Wenning's boat begin to tilt and take on water, they told the newspaper.
Wenning, who was wearing a life vest, was close enough to the teens to tell them he couldn't swim.
Roach said he called 911 while Skiles jumped in to help Wenning back onto solid ground. Skiles said he was in the 47-degree water with Wenning for about 5 minutes before reaching shore.
Montezuma firefighters arrived at the scene after Wenning had been pulled from the water. Fire chief Lee Braun said the water was about 10 feet deep, and the water temperature was low enough to create a hypothermia risk if the men had been in the water for too long.
Wenning refused treatment at the scene. Braun was uncertain of what caused the incident. Wenning thanked Skiles, Roach, McIntosh and the firefighters for all their help.
