11 rescued on Lake Erie after boat begins to sink

4/10/2005

The Coast Guard yesterday rescued 11 Goshen, Ind., residents from a pontoon boat that was sinking in Lake Erie, about a mile west of the Toledo Harbor Light.

The Coast Guard received a call from the Monroe County Sheriff s Department about 1 p.m. that a 16-foot pontoon boat was taking on water. When Coast Guard personnel arrived, all the people had been exposed to water, and one was in the water.

The boat s owner, Robert Nettrouer, Sr., 67, was taken to St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center, where he was undergoing treatment last night.

Others rescued were James Nettrouer, 58; Robert Nettrouer, 45; Richard Cripe, 42; Steven Ray Nettrouer, 23; Justin Smothers, 21; Nathan Nettrouer, 21; Jeremy Lee Nettrouer, 18, and three minors.