7 Toledo boys rescued after boat drifts away

5/22/2001

Seven South Toledo boys had to be rescued last night from a Maumee River island near the Toledo Zoo after the small boat they commandeered drifted away in strong current, police said.

Neighbors in the 2400 block of Broadway noticed the boys, ages 13 to 15, on Corbutt Island shortly before 9 p.m. and called police. Some of the youngsters considered swimming to the riverbank, but police said Charles Schultz, a Broadway resident, paddled to them in a kayak to tell them to stay put until help arrived.

Police contacted the Coast Guard, who took the boys off the island about 10 p.m. They were taken to the Scott Park district police station for questioning and released to their parents.

Police are considering charges against the boys for using a boat that did not belong to them.