A day of boating on Lake Erie led to a required rescue and charges for a couple of boaters on the weekend.
The Elgin County Ontario Provincial Police reported Monday that its Marine Unit was called around 4:45 p.m. Saturday after two people were unable to make it back to shore in their boat.
According to police, a concerned citizen called to report that two relatives had gone out on the water from the Port Burwell area around 6 a.m. They were in a 16-foot boat.
"The relative reported that they had received a cell phone call from the boaters at around 12 pm and they stated that they had run out of gas and needed help getting in," police said in a news release issued Monday. "The relative searched in another boat for the pair until 4:45 pm and were unable to locate the overdue boaters or get a hold of them via cell phone. They then contacted the Elgin OPP."
A search involving the Elgin OPP Marine Unit, the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre, and the Auxiliary Coast Coast Guard ended around 7:10 p.m. when the boat was located in an area south of Long Point about five kilometres from the Canada/U.S. border. Police say the boat had an anchor, but its line wasn't long enough to reach the bottom of the lake in order to keep the boat in place. The boat was towed back to shore by the Auxiliary Coast Guard Unit.
The boaters were then charged with failing to have adequate visual signalling devices and with having open liquor on the boat.
"Police want to remind boaters that it's important to ensure that you let someone you know where you are going, what time you are going to be back and that you have all the necessary safety equipment on-board," police said.