American Airboat Search and Rescue Association Setting the standard for airboat search and rescue operations
"He who saves a single life is said to have saved the world"
Hero of Flight 401 Robert Lee Marquis "Angel of the Everglades" Dead at Age 79
DISCLAIMER The American Airboat Search and Rescue Association is not affiliated with or a representative of American Airboats, Inc., Orange, Texas.
NEWS
N.D. Fish, Wildlife Service responds during flood event
May 21, 2009
Over 150 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service personnel from 10 states joined forces with local, state, and federal operations to protect public safety and welfare in Bismarck, Jamestown, Valley City, Fargo, Minot, and several smaller surrounding communities impacted by spring flooding.
As the nation’s principal conservation agency, the Service is generally associated with managing wildlife habitat and species work. What led to such active involvement by the Service in the recent flood response efforts in North Dakota?
The answer is airboats. Airboats are unique and powerful watercraft commonly utilized on units of the National Wildlife Refuge System. Airboats provided the Service with an opportunity to lend a helping hand to neighboring communities during recent flood events in the Dakotas. Unlike outboard and jet-powered boats, airboats have no operating parts below the waterline, making it suitable for maneuvering in shallow flooded areas where it also was used to cross roads, golf courses, dikes, and other challenging areas that other boats could not access.
For the complete story, go to the NEWS- Page 1 of this web site.
City Council Approves Fire Dept. Airboat Purchase After Flooding
Lindstrom City Council
Council okayed transfers and pooling of various fire department monies to allow the department to acquire an airboat. The department can pull together $30,000 which would buy a stripped down, or a demo model, the department could customize on its own, according to Chief Scott Sellman. Now that there's an account capitalized for the purchase firefighters will start shopping in earnest and taking units for test drives to find the right purchase.
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May 22, 2009
Police find missing Irondequoit woman's car in Genesee River
The car of a missing Irondequoit woman was pulled from a channel of the Genesee River at the Rochester Yacht Club on Thursday night.
"It's a vehicle we've been looking for that belongs to Bernice Ferenc," said Irondequoit police Capt. Marty Corbett. "There is what appears to be a body in the vehicle."
The identity of the body has not been disclosed.
However, the license plate number on the car matched that of a car belonging to Bronislawa "Bernice" Ferenc, 85, who has not been seen since Feb. 12, when she left her Irondequoit home and went out in her car, a 1995 Oldsmobile Delta 88.
She was last seen at the Ridge-Culver Wegmans store in Irondequoit.
Troopers had used an airboat equipped with sonar to search the Genesee River on March 25 and Irondequoit Bay on March 26.
For the complete story, go to the NEWS section on this website.
Elderly angler lucky to survive hypothermia after icy plunge
Lake of the Woods Search and Rescue members deploy airboat on ice covered lake
An elderly man is fortunate to have survived an ill-fated ice fishing expedition on Worth Lake north of Kenora earlier this month.
Kenora OPP provided details of the May 2 incident which required the services of Lake of the Woods Search and Rescue and ended with the 69-year-old Manitoba resident being treated for hypothermia at Lake of the Woods District Hospital.
“The gentleman decided to go fishing and walked out on the ice dragging a canoe behind him just in case and went through the ice,” reported Const. Dave Cain.
Fortunately there were two other anglers fishing on the same bay who saw what happened. One of the men went for help while the other made his way along the shoreline to lend assistance.
Alerted to the situation, OPP contacted Lake of the Woods Search and Rescue shortly after noon, members arrived at the scene within the hour and deployed on the ice covered lake by airboat.
For the complete story, go to the NEWS section of this website.
Recovery mission underway for teen
Thursday, 14 May 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - Orange County Sheriff's boats are back on the water Thursday in Lake Catherine looking for the body of a missing 15-year-old boy.
Search teams used a spotlight and began searching the lake around 5:30 a.m. Once the sun came up, a helicopter scanned the shoreline from above, but they were not able to see anything.
The Sheriff's Office currently has two boats in the water and are using side scan sonar. Officials said a large amount of vegetation in the water is hampring their search. Divers will also be back in the water this morning near the spot where the boy was last seen.
For the complete story, go to the NEWS- Page 1 of this web site.
A Harwood, N.D., family was grateful Sunday after authorities used an airboat to rescue their German shepherd from floodwaters.
Jann Monson said her husband, Keith, pointed out a deer that was standing on the ice near their farmstead west of Harwood. Their dog, Deuce, ran after the deer, but both animals fell through the ice.
The deer was able to get out and run away, but Deuce was not.
“You could see his head bobbing,” Jann Monson said.
Keith Monson then drove to the community center, wh ere the Coast Guard, National Guard and other law enforcement officials are stationed.
Authorities followed Monson to the farmstead and used an airboat to quickly rescue the dog. The whole ordeal lasted less than a half-hour, Jann Monson said.
The family made a special trip back to the community center to thank them again for saving their dog.
“We were very happy to have him back,” Jann Monson said.
Judge dismisses suit over drowning The Associated Press
NEWPORT, N.H. -- A New Hampshire judge has dismissed a lawsuit against Plainfield filed by the family of a Vermont woman who drowned three years ago when an airboat sank during a rescue attempt.
Virginia Yates, 64, of Rockingham, Vt., slipped on a dock, hurting her ankle in August 2006. The Cornish Rescue Squad strapped her into a litter onto the deck of an airboat to take leaving the dock, dragging her under.
Her family sued the rescue squad, the boat maker, several communities and two mutual aid organizations, alleging they were negligent.
MILLER CITY - The body of an Illinois truck driver who got his rig stuck in the Blanchard River's muddy, swollen waters was found Friday 900 feet from where his truck came to rest.
Putnam County Sheriff Jim Beutler said search crews discovered the body of Clyde Mayo, 74, of Martinton, Ill., around 9:25 a.m. Friday in a water-covered corn field. The discovery capped a more than day-long search for the man who apparently got lost and was attempting to find his way around the high water areas.
"As he attempted to cross through the high water on County Road 15 near the Blanchard River, the loaded truck was swept off the edge of the road by the extreme current," Beutler said. "Mr. Mayo exited his truck and quickly (was) overcome by the extreme temperature and force of the water."
Putnam County Coroner Anna Horstman pronounced Mayo dead at the scene. Officials requested an autopsy to determine the actual cause of death.
Mayo got his semi tractor-trailer caught in muddy floodwaters along Road 15 south of Road H-13. Beutler said the incident started with the semi striking a power pole at Road J and Road 14-I south of Miller City around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Mayo ended up heading north on Road 15 when he got his rig caught in the floodwaters, the current picking the tractor-trailer up and floating off the left side of the road, where it lodged, Beutler said.
Beutler said Mayo was swept up in about 4 feet of water when he exited his cab and likely became disoriented in the cold and darkness before drowning.
A resident reported power was out, Beutler said. A search by crews eventually located the truck partially submerged in the water. Beutler said the driver's odds of making it to safety were slim because of the combination of darkness, cold water, brisk current and being in unfamiliar territory.
Recovery efforts on Thursday included a sky search from an Ohio State Highway Patrol helicopter as well as on the water efforts in an airboat from the U.S. Coast Guard station at Marblehead.
The incident was the third involving motorists needing rescue from high waters this week. The other two drivers were rescued.
GLANDORF/CONTINENTAL - At approximately 11:30 p.m. Wednesday evening the Putnam County Sheriff's Office and the Glandorf Fire Department responded to a crash scene at the intersection of Rds. J and 14-I in Greensburg Twp., just west of Glandorf.
It was reported that a semi broke off a power pole at the intersection while making a turn. The truck did not stop, so responding personnel began checking the area for the truck. Glandorf Fire Chief, Randy Brinkman, spotted the truck on Rd. 15, north of Rd. J, in water crossing the road from the Blanchard River.
The truck was accessed by boat and unoccupied. Immediate search of the area did not reveal the driver. As the investigation into his whereabouts continued, it was determined that the 74 year old Illinois man had to have entered the water from his truck. The swift current, air and water temperatures. and the depth of the water would not have permitted the driver to exit the water. The search then focused on flooded areas.
The Coast Guard, along with an air boat, was requested and responded from Marblehead to aid in the search. Highway Patrol helicopters are providing aerial support and manpower. The Allen County Sheriff's Department provided a cadaver dog that focused on an area unsearchable due to current water depths and current speeds.
Kalida Heavy Rescue also provided rescue personnel to aid in the shallow search areas.
Active searching has been suspended for the day to allow the waters to recede and in concession of night fall. A passive search will continue throughout the night as remote areas will be searched with lights and ATV's by ground. The search will continue Friday.
Two young boys were rescued shortly after 6 p.m. from the ice off Baer Beach near Waldameer Park in Millcreek Township. Two members of the West Lake Fire Department used an air boat to reach the boys, who were estimated to be about 500 feet from shore. They were believed to be stranded on a piece of floating ice on Lake Erie. The boys were quickly ushered to a nearby Millcreek Paramedic Service ambulance once they were brought ashore as darkness was setting in. The boys appeared unharmed. Watch as West Lake Fire Chief Kirk McCaslin describes the rescue effort.
For the complete story, go to the NEWS- Page 1 of this web site.
Nine evacuated from flood area February 13, 2009 St. Clair County emergency officials evacuated nine people from a flooded area in East China Township.
Jeffrey Friedland, St. Clair County Emergency Management coordinator, said those people were rescued by boat because of severe flooding on the Belle River.
He said 38 houses on Bryson Drive were affected. He said eight people refused evacuation and other homes were not occupied.
For the complete story, go to the NEWS - Page 1 of this web site.
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Fire chief says officials had no choice but to search lake
Thursday, 12 February 2009
Cliff Buchan News Editor
In the end, it was a false alarm, but in the beginning emergency personnel in Forest Lake were faced with no option, the city’s top fire official said on Thursday.
“You can’t not look,” said Forest Lake Fire Chief Gary Sigfrinius following an exhaustive search of Clear Lake on Tuesday night after fielding a report of a vehicle going through the ice. “You go for it.”
At 6:20 p.m. on Tuesday, an emergency 911 call was received reporting that a vehicle had been seen going through the ice about 200 feet from shore, the chief said. The call came from a Maplewood firefighter who was driving north on I-35, he said.
Sigfrinius said the reporter was credible. The caller said she saw what appeared to be vehicle taillights dip down and then the headlights go up, Sigfrinius said.
For the complete story, go to the NEWS- Page 1 of this web site.
Eight airboats from the Coast Guard and local authorities sent airboats
out on the ice.
Feb 8, 6:54 AM EST
Officials: 1 dead, 134 rescued from Lake Erie ice
For the complete story go to the NEWS page of this web site.
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Dozens of fishermen rescued from Lake Erie ice floe
1 dead after falling into water Saturday, February 7, 2009
More than 100 fishermen were rescued from a slab of ice that broke free and floated away from the Ohio shoreline of Lake Erie on Saturday.
A U.S. Coast Guard spokesman, Chief Petty Officer Robert Lanier, said 134 people had been plucked from the ice by late afternoon.
One person died after the ice shifted early Saturday, said Ottawa County Sheriff Bob Bratton. The victim fell into the water while searching with others for a link to the shoreline, Bratton said.
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Fisherman Dies, Dozens Rescued As Ice Floe Floats Into Lake Erie
By John Seewer Associated Press Sunday, February 8, 2009 OAK HARBOR, Ohio, Feb. 7 -- A miles-wide ice floe broke away from Lake Erie's shoreline on Saturday, trapping more than 130 fishermen, some for four hours. One person fell into the water and later died of an apparent heart attack.
A Coast Guard spokesman, Chief Petty Officer Robert Lanier, said 134 people had been plucked from the ice by late afternoon. Some climbed into baskets lowered from rescue helicopters, while others boarded whirring airboats that glided across the ice.
FL-3 Finds Remains Believed to be those of Marcia Hulihan
Sabastian, Florida January 31, 2009
Police find female skeletal remains while searching for missing Sebastian woman By Keona Gardner Saturday, January 31, 2009 SEBASTIAN — Police found female skeletal remains just off Main Street Saturday, but can’t say if they are a 50-year-old Sebastian woman who was last seen Sept. 7, Sebastian Police Department spokesman Officer Steve Marcinik said.“We’re optimistic,” he said. “But there has to be forensic identification to say who the person is.”Police and volunteers were searching the area for signs of Marcia Hulihan, who has been missing for five months.
For the complete story, go to: the FL-3 page on this site.
Marcia Hulihan
FL-3 Airboat Search and Rescue Joins Search for Adji Desir Immokalee, Florida January 2009
Naples News January 15, 2009
Authorities promise to find missing Immokalee boy, no matter how long it takes
(FL-3 Airboat) the Tampa Search and Rescue Team brought down an amphibious vehicle with underwater sonar and cameras to help scan the lake. For photos and more information, go to "Adji Desir Search" on this site.
* * ANNOUNCEMENT * * Bark Ark® Animal flood rescue and evacuation service available through the AASARA Bark Ark® services are available for emergency evacuation, rescue and feeding of flood affected pets, livestock and wildlife. For information contact the American Airboat Search and Rescue Association BarkArk@airboatsar.org Click here to go directly to: The Bark Ark page
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