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photo by Scott Schmeltzer
Emergency responders gather Sunday at Pickerel Lake Park by U.S. Highway 69 south of Albert Lea.
Boat capsizes on Pickerel Lake
Resident launches rescue with a rowboat
Originally published 09:15 a.m., November 23, 2009
Updated 09:15 a.m., November 23, 2009
Three men were treated for cold exposure-related injuries at Albert Lea Medical Center Sunday morning after their boat reportedly capsized on Pickerel Lake.
According to a Freeborn County Sheriff’s Office news release, the incident occurred around 10:45 a.m. Sunday. Sheriff’s Office deputies, along with the Albert Lea Fire Department water rescue team and Albert Lea Medical Center paramedics, were sent to a report of three men in the middle of the lake.
The men had been returning to shore after duck hunting when their boat became overloaded, sunk and capsized, the release states. The three were not wearing lifejackets at the time of the incident.
They were rescued by the Albert Lea Fire Department in a Zodiac boat and by resident Jeremy Hendrickson of rural Albert Lea, who initiated his own rescue by rowboat.
Hendrickson said he had just come home from church when he heard yelling from the lake. He went into the house and told his wife to call 911, and then he rowed his boat out to where the men had gone into the water.
He estimated they were about 400 yards away from his shoreline.
He said he could see one man in the water and another man kneeling on the top of the boat. Another man had already been rescued by the Fire Department.
Hendrickson estimated that the men had been in the water for roughly a half hour.
He said there had been others who called 911 before his wife.
The Sheriff’s Office was also assisted by the Minnesota State Patrol and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Many authorities gathered at Pickerel Lake Park along U.S. Highway 69 to launch the rescue.
The names of the three men have not yet been released.
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Comments
Posted by tonyhill (anonymous) on November 23, 2009 at 8:31 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Thank you Jeremy for taking the initiative. We all could learn from your courage. Way to go.
Tony and Sonjia Hill
Posted by tbogue (anonymous) on November 23, 2009 at 10:31 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I am relieved this was a rescue and not a recovery. These men have ALOT to be thankful for this year. One thing being the opportunity to hunt again, next time wearing their lifejackets. Kudos to Jeremy Hendrickson on his courage and fast thinking. And the A.L. Fire Department ROCKS!
Posted by redgray1 (anonymous) on November 23, 2009 at 9:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I am one of the mothers, thank you Jeremy, thank you!! I also want to thank all the rescue teams. I thank God for all of you, God Bless
Posted by SunMan (anonymous) on November 27, 2009 at 10:54 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Why doesn't the GOP complain about the government takeover of the fire department? The fire department would be a perfect business to be run by greedy people, after all why shouldn't they be able to charge what the market will bear when in need during a fire? They could maximize profit by having different response times based on how much you want to pay.
If you've had a pre-existing condition, or fire on the premises before, they can drop your coverage so their profits stay high... after all that's what they claim works soooooo well for health care.
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