Temperance woman treated for hypothermia after fall from boat

Amy Nearhood and her husband Richard on their boat in August.

MONROE — A Temperance woman was treated for hypothermia after falling overboard Sunday night in Lake Erie near Monroe, authorities said.

Amy Nearhood, 52, was taken to Mercy Memorial Hospital in Monroe for advanced stages of hypothermia after swimming to shore, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.

Richard Nearhood called sheriff’s deputies about 9:04 p.m. to report that his wife had fallen from their boat. A search effort ensued, covering the area from the mouth of the River Raisin to Toledo Beach Marina and involving rescue boats and helicopters dispatched by the sheriff’s office and the U.S. Coast Guard.

About 10:25 p.m., David Hetzel, a DTE Energy Coal Plant employee, was working near a coal pile on the shore of Lake Erie when he saw a woman walking on the DTE property in obvious distress. Mrs. Nearhood told him that she had hypothermia and needed assistance, sheriff’s deputies said. Mr. Hetzel gave first aid to Mrs. Nearhood and contacted the sheriff’s office.

Mrs. Nearhood told sheriff’s deputies that she was at the rear of the vessel looking for a blanket when she was bumped into by another occupant and fell overboard. At the time, the couple had friends on the boat, which was leaving the Monroe area headed to Ottawa River Yacht Club in Toledo.

In August, the couple told The Blade they were naming their 32-foot Marinette “Life’s a Dance” after the title of a song written by their favorite singer, John Michael Montgomery, who came aboard the boat while performing in Toledo.