Nat. Resources Police Help Rescue Six Hunters Stranded in Nanticoke River
NANTICOKE RIVER, Md. – The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has released details on a water rescue that took place Saturday evening.
On Jan. 31, Natural Resources Police (NRP) and Wildlife and Heritage Service staff helped rescue six waterfowl hunters stranded on a disabled vessel on the Nanticoke River. First responders were first dispatched around 6:30 p.m. However, local fire rescue crews were unable to reach the stranded boaters due to unnavigable waters caused by substantial ice thickness and frozen boat ramps. Weather data shows that temperatures were in the high teens to low 20s at the time of the stranding, with strong northerly winds gusting over 20 miles per hour at times.
NRP’s helicopter had just completed an escort of another vessel in the ice-covered waters of the Tangier Sound when it was called to assist with the incident in the Nanticoke River. The helicopter was manned by Sargent John Buchanan and Officer Christian Helwig.
Buchanan and Helwig successfully located the vessel and all passengers upon arrival to the scene, illuminating the disabled vessel using the helicopter’s onboard spotlight. First responders called in multiple forms of rescue, including Maryland State Police’s Trooper 6 helicopter and the DNR Wildlife and Heritage team’s airboat. The airboat, also known as a fan boat, is designed to operate in shallow areas or areas in which gliding over ice is necessary. When Wildlife staffer Greg Schenck arrived to operate the airboat with responding NRP officers, crews determined it would be safer to rescue the boaters by airboat, rather than a risky hoist by the helicopter in windy conditions.
Schenck initiated the rescue by launching the airboat from a nearby campground parking lot, along with NRP Corporal Jeremy Ryan and Sargent Robert Karge. With assistance from the searchlight, the airboat rescued all six individuals in two separate trips. All individuals were safely returned to shore where they were evaluated by EMS personnel and transported back to their vehicles.
Maryland’s waterfowl hunting season came to a close on Jan. 31. DNR says all boaters should continue to exercise extreme caution if operating boats during the ongoing icy conditions.
To see footage of the rescue, click here.
