A lobsterman heard faint, desperate cries for help coming off the coast of Maine and joined the multi-agency search that saved a man’s life.
A property owner was checking on recent storm damage to his skiff, which is a small, flat-bottomed boat, when it capsized somewhere between Tenants Harbor and Rackliff Island on Sunday, the St. George Fire and Rescue said in a Facebook post.
The man plunged into the freezing waters when the sun was down, around 5 p.m. Sunday. What had started as a drizzling shower intensified as the night went on. After an arduous, three-hour rescue on foot and involving several ships, he was finally on his way to the hospital.
“Our local lobstermen saved his life,” the St. George Fire and Rescue said.
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Cold-water rescue suits drying out after saving man stranded on an island. (St. George Fire & Rescue/Facebook)
The call started after the man missed his 4:15 p.m. pickup time at the marina, and his wife called 911, but her husband could have been anywhere.
He swam to the shore of one of the northern islands off the coast of Maine, but he was trapped, and the 25-plus first responders from the St. George Fire and Rescue team, Marine Patrol, U.S. Coast Guard and Knox County Sheriff’s Office couldn’t find him.
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A nearby citizen on a different island heard the moans and called 911, which shrank the search radius.
A local lobsterman, whom the St. George Fire and Rescue team identified as Ryan Miller, heard the chatter on the radio and joined the search.
He ultimately found the victim, but he was stranded on an island with narrow passage and rocky terrain that made access by boat impossible.
A boat capsized somewhere between Tenants Harbor and Rackliff Island, leaving first responders with a vast area to cover. (Google Maps)
The man from the capsized boat was able to swim to a northern island near Rackliff Island, but the terrain and narrow passageway made it nearly impossible for first responders to reach him. (Google Maps)
The man tried to walk the rocky terrain, but he had no energy left, the Pen Bay Pilot reported. First responders – working in shifts and teams – strapped him to stokes, wrapped him in a tarp and snaked him through the dense woods and tidal pools.
The first walking party picked up the stokes and started the journey, according to the Pen Bay Pilot. The second team grabbed the baton at 7:15 p.m.
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By 7:26 p.m., they loaded him into a small Marine Patrol boat and transferred him to the U.S. Coast Guard, who took him to shore in Tenants Harbor, according to the Pen Bay Pilot.
A lobster boat heads out in Tenants Harbor, Maine. (Staff photo by Brianna Soukup/Portland Press Herald via Getty Images)
There he was rushed to the hospital with his wife.
“While the outcome feels like a victory, we do not know at this time what the future holds for our patient. Please keep him and his family in your thoughts on his road to recovery,” St. George Fire and Rescue said in a Facebook post.
“What we can all do tonight is take notes from the family and implement this one simple thing that kept tonight from having a tragic outcome: Have a plan. When you are going out on the water, establish check-in times. If those times are missed, CALL IT IN. You are not overreacting.”
