By Rob Benneian – For The Windsor Star
Two men stranded in a small boat in chilly Lake St. Clair were located and rescued after their cellphone was traced by authorities Sunday morning.
The coast guard was alerted just before 9 a.m. by the Macomb County Sheriff’s Department, which received the distress call.
The two men spoke Chinese and little English and were unable to provide their location when they called for help.
“The cellphone transmissions helped to provide a good starting position for coast guard rescue crews to search,” said coast guard Lt. Kelly Ridle. “Once on scene, rescue crews were better able to be vectored to the distressed vessel with help from local authorities.”
The rescuers were able to airlift the two men, who were wearing life jackets, out of their nine-foot raft with no engine. Petty Officer Christopher Yaw said they have been unable to determine where the two boaters set out from, where they were intending to go or how they had come to be stranded. They were plucked from Lake St. Clair near Strawberry Island, which belongs to Clay Township in Michigan. It’s located less than five kilometres from shore.
Both were exhibiting signs of hypothermia and were taken to hospital for treatment.
The Coast Guard warns water temperatures in Lake St. Clair are cold enough at this time of year to cause hypothermia and reminds boaters to check water temperatures and weather forecasts before setting out.
