2 teen brothers rescued from middle of Utah Lake
Shortly after the boys, who are brothers, launched from the American Fork harbor, the personal watercraft they were riding started to malfunction, said Utah County sheriff's deputy Collin Geodon.
A friend who was riding on another personal watercraft returned to shore to get a tow rope, Geodon said. By the time he returned, the weather had taken a turn for the worse and the boys were nowhere to be seen. Utah County Search and Rescue received a distress call about 2 p.m.
"It was a beautiful day and then the weather just flipped a switch," he said.
The pilot of a Utah County sheriff's plane spotted the watercraft near the center of the lake, several miles from where the teens had launched it, Geodon said. The pilot guided a crew of Utah Lake State Park rangers to the boys.
"Without the aircraft up there, it really could have been a lot worse," he said. "The water conditions on the lake were just terrible. All the watercraft were really struggling with the high winds."
Waves peaked at nearly 6 feet while the park rangers were pulling the boys from the water, said Ty Hunter, park manager at Utah Lake State Park.
"Medically they were not in very good shape," he said. "They were very, very cold."
Both boys were transported to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center for symptoms of hypothermia but were otherwise unhurt.
E-mail: estuart@desnews.com
Recent comments
Glad to hear some kids have the common sense to wear life jackets...
Jason | June 11, 2008 at 9:37 a.m.
