Coast Guard rescues stranded Indiana boater

8/20/2001

An Indiana man was described as wet but in high spirits after spending the night on Lake Erie's West Sister Island

The Coast Guard took Danny Engleking off of West Sister at about 8:30 a.m. yesterday, PO Brad Parker of the Toledo station said.

Mr. Engleking of Brookston, Ind., was returning from Canadian waters in his 20-foot, open bow fishing boat Saturday evening when he was caught in a downpour. He headed for West Sister, which is nearly eight miles north of the Davis-Besse nuclear power station in Ottawa County. Just as he reached the island, a wave swamped his boat.

Once on the island, Mr. Engleking called 911 and was patched through to the Marblehead Coast Guard Station. His information was forwarded to the Toledo station, where officials calculated that he probably was on West Sister.

“We were going to put a helicopter up, but the weather was too bad,” Petty Officer Parker explained. “So he spent the night there. He had a sleeping bag and was a little damp, but not much the worse for wear.”