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Darwin Awards
2009 Slush Pile

This item was recently submitted by a reader.
Should I include it in the archive?
Vote to tell me what *you* think!

Boater Missing In Lake Erie

2009 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance

Man presumed drowned, left life-jacket in van

By Dalson Chen and Frances Willick, The Windsor Star August 13, 2009 ESSEX, Ont. --

A 52-year-old Colchester man is missing and presumed drowned after his boat capsized and sank in Lake Erie on Wednesday afternoon.

OPP said the man was not wearing safety equipment when he ventured onto the water alone at Belcreft Beach in a small catamaran-style sailing craft.

Inside the man’s brown GMC minivan parked near the beach, a life-jacket was visible lying on the backseat.

“That’s his. It’s brand new,” said Alan Truman, a good friend of the victim. “He bought it yesterday.”

The name of the man was withheld by police at press time pending notification of kin.

OPP and the Canadian Coast Guard were alerted around 4:22 p.m. that a man was in the water crying out for help, about 200 yards from shore.

Children playing nearby witnessed the man’s distress.

“I just saw the end of the boat sticking out of the water,” said 14-year-old Aerika Lamarche. “He was treading water. He was bobbing up and down, and the last time he bobbed up and went down, he didn’t come back up again. I felt so bad. How could we get to him and not drown ourselves?”

Ellen Gibb Mack, who lives on the beach, said she tried to paddle her kayak out to the man when she heard his cries for help — but she was too late.

“I saw his arm up, and his head, and then he disappeared,” Mack said. “I paddled around. I went to the spot where I thought I had seen him go down.… I didn’t realize how deep it was.”

Truman said the victim was an experienced boater who’d gone on the water countless times. However, Truman said the man was not a strong swimmer.

Asked why his friend had not donned the life-jacket purchased so recently, Truman was at a loss to explain. “He was too confident, I guess,” Truman said.

OPP and Canadian Coast Guard vessels continued to search the area until at least 8:30 p.m. A U.S. coast guard helicopter also took part in the search.

Erin Vincent, a marine controller with the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Trenton, said the man had still not been found at press time.

“For our part of the search, we’ve concluded that basically there is no chance of survival,” Vincent said. “People watched him go under. We searched the area extensively. No signs of him anywhere.”

All that was recovered from the water was debris.

According to Vincent, the water where the catamaran sank was 17 to 20 feet deep and weather conditions were serene at the time of the incident.

However, the murkiness of the water complicated the search efforts. Vincent said an OPP dive team has been requested.

Truman said his friend grew up in Kingsville, and lived on Nottingham Drive only about two blocks from Belcreft Beach.

The man had no children and wasn’t married. OPP officers went to Kingsville to speak to the man’s immediate family: a brother and an elderly father.

Truman said he had arranged to meet his friend at the beach at 5 p.m., and they were going to attend the Dream Cruise Tune Up car show in Windsor.

“He was a good guy,” Truman said.

Truman said the man lost his job as a forklift driver when Windsor’s Aramco plant closed earlier this year.

Rachel Meloche, 52, a nearby resident, said the victim often made friendly visits. “He used to come to our house every night. He would do anything for you,” she said. “It’s unbelievable. Here today, gone tomorrow.”

Sean Lamarche, 35, another neighbour, said he noticed that the victim’s only safety equipment in the catamaran was a pair of flippers.

Lamarche said he told the man repeatedly that he should be better equipped. “I mentioned it three different times. You can get in trouble,” Lamarche said. “I feel bad. I found his shoes and cigarettes floating in the water.”

http://www.windsorstar.com/most-popular-articles.html © Copyright (c) The Windsor Star More...

Sailor presumed dead Boat capsizes, life-jacket left in car http://www.windsorstar.com/news/Sailor+presumed+dead/1887184/story.html

Body, boat recovered near Colchester Man missing since Wednesday mishap http://www.windsorstar.com/news/Body+boat+recovered+near+Colchester/1897722/story.html

Victim removed boat foam Pontoons likely filled with water, neighbour says http://www.windsorstar.com/news/Victim+removed+boat+foam/1900893/story.html

Submitted on 08/17/2009

Submitted by: Anonymous
Reference: Windsor Star - August 13, 2009

Copyright © 2009 DarwinAwards.com

>> Moderator Scores <<

Bruce said:
Definitely Toss: Lacks Excellence
Thanks, but boaters going out without proper equipment is mind bogglingy common and there's nothing that really stands out here.


Candi said:
Definitely Toss: Lacks Excellence
What Bruce said.


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