Man rescued after falling into lake

5/26/2006

OAK HARBOR, Ohio - A Cortland, Ohio, man who was rescued from Lake Erie Wednesday afternoon after he fell into the water while fishing was in serious condition at a Toledo hospital yesterday.

Larry Miller was fishing with three other people in a 22-foot boat about six miles off the shore of Carroll Township near the Niagara Reef when he fell into the water, said Petty Officer Bryan Kaseman of the Coast Guard's Marblehead station.

Larry Miller, 37, was flown to the Medical University of Ohio Medical Center, where he was in serious condition, a hospital spokesman said.

The victim's father and a friend in the boat and a nearby fisherman helped pull the man back into the boat, while a doctor who was fishing nearby came to the rescue and performed CPR, township police Chief Jody Hatfield said.

Lake Erie was about 60 degrees at the Marblehead station, Mr. Kaseman said.

Chief Hatfield said Mr. Miller fell in when he tried to retrieve a fishing pole. His breathing and a pulse were restored through the CPR, the police chief said.