Photo by Mark Johnson/VTDigger
Three boaters on Lake Champlain are presumed dead after separate incidents Tuesday night in South Burlington and Alburgh.
In South Burlington, one boater died and another is presumed dead after a boating accident off the shore of Red Rocks State Park. Both men were residents of South Burlington. Police have not yet released their names.
The boat ride began with six passengers — four adults and two minors.
South Burlington Fire Chief Terry Francis said the situation began when one of the minors jumped off the boat into the water to cool off, but misjudging the water conditions, began to flounder immediately.
An adult on the boat followed the minor into the water to rescue them, but because of the strong wind and waves, the boat had already drifted a significant distance, and swimming back to it became extremely difficult, Francis said.
A second adult quickly jumped in to help, and shortly thereafter, a third adult jumped in, holding a life jacket, according to Francis. That person reportedly intended to put the life jacket on while in the water, but that task proved to be too difficult, and instead the life jacket was given to the minor and the first adult in the water, to help them swim back to shore.
That left the second two adults who entered the water, both males, without any flotation devices, Francis said.
The two people left on the boat, one of whom was a minor, did not know how to drive the boat, and remained stuck on the boat until the Coast Guard was able to rescue them from the vessel.
The Coast Guard was the first to respond to the scene, quickly finding one of the two missing swimmers submerged in the water. The team pulled the individual out of the water, began CPR, and quickly transported him back to the hospital. Police reported that late Tuesday night, the man succumbed to his injuries at the University of Vermont Medical Center.
Rescue crews continued to search for the other man Tuesday night, but had to call off the search at dark, around 9:15 p.m. Vermont State Police continued the search Wednesday, but Francis said the chances of him being found alive at this point are “zero.”
Francis said initially, much of the search was devoted to the nearby shoreline, in the hopes that the man had been able to swim back to shore, and was lying on the rocks, too exhausted to get help. But after it became clear that was not the case, Francis said the chances of survival decreased significantly.
At the time of the incident, the air temperature was 94 degrees, and the water temperature was 74 degrees, which Francis said is “pretty warm” for Vermont water. The problem, he said, is that the minor who first entered the water wasn’t wearing a life jacket, as is required by Vermont law for everyone under the age of 12.
“That would have solved the entire problem,” Francis said. He also stressed the importance of correctly judging the water and ensuring that everyone on your boat knows how to operate the vehicle.
“What should have been a very nice day out on the water watching people jump in and enjoying the afternoon and early evening turned into a tragedy unnecessarily,” Francis said.
Police said it remains unclear whether alcohol was a factor in the accident.
In total, seven agencies and about 45 people responded to the scene. Francis said they were using six different radio frequencies to go over a search area that was about a square mile big.
“It was a stressful day for us, but it was much worse for the people in water and on the boat,” he said. “I can assure you that.”
In the Alburgh case, a man who dove off a boat in Lake Champlain never resurfaced. Emergency responders were unable to locate him Tuesday night, and he has now also been presumed dead.
Ed. note — On Thursday, authorities identified the victims in the South Burlington case. Todd Anderson, 51, remains missing and is presumed dead. The other victim, David King, 33, died at the hospital.
