Boater Rescued from Sinking Boat on Lake Winnebago

The Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office along with another
boater worked together to save a sinking boat and its operator on Lake
Winnebago Sunday morning.

The Fond du Lac County Communications Center received a
call around 6:30 Sunday morning from a person on the lake who said his boat was
taking on water and sinking. The caller gave dispatchers his general location,
and GPS coordinates from the 9-1-1 call were used to pinpoint his location.

The Sheriff’s Office Water Patrol and Rescue boat responded
to the area, and found that another nearby boat had responded to help. The civilians’
boat helped the stranded boater and began to tow the sinking boat to prevent it
from going fully underwater. The boater was taken to shore, and the Sheriff’s
Office boat took over towing the sinking boat into the Fond du Lac Marina.

The boater, identified as a 31-year-old man from Fond du
Lac, was not injured and his boat was not damaged in the incident. 

A press
release says upon loading his boat onto a trailer in the marina, it was
discovered the drain plug was no longer in place. The boater told deputies the
plug must have come out during the boat ride, as he said he placed it in before
launching.