Bluffs hiker rescued after spending night stuck in storm puddle
Man found in metre-deep puddle after getting leg caught in rocks
A67-year-old man was rescued Thursday morning after getting stuck between two rocks in the Scarborough Bluffs area, where he spent the previous stormy night after his legs gave out while hiking.
Steve Menzie, 55, was out for a regular jog with his dog early in the morning when he came across a man stuck on his side, lying in a puddle of water and holding himself up on his elbow near Rosetta McLean Gardens.
Menzie said the man was in a puddle almost a metre deep and six metres in length near the waterfront that resulted from Wednesday’s storm.
“He had a walking stick that he was trying to prop up and he had a big leather knapsack on,” Menzie said. “Immediately I just jumped into the pond with him and just, ‘hey are you OK, do you need help?’ He wasn’t struggling at the time but he clearly was lying there.”
The man said he was stuck, Menzie said. He quickly assessed the situation and managed to prop the man up.
“I could see that one of his legs was caught between rocks,” Menzie said.
“He had clearly slipped on the rocks,” Menzie said.
“It took a couple minutes to get his leg freed. I gradually lifted him and then we were able to slowly get him out of the water. Once we did, he was shaking a little bit. He was clearly in shock.”
After the man was seated, Menzie, without his phone, ran to his nearby home to call emergency services. He returned with some food, water and a towel and then remained with the man until help arrived.
Toronto Fire Services said that when firefighters arrived just after 8 a.m., the man appeared to be doing well under the circumstances.
Before Menzie found him, the man had been hiking Wednesday afternoon with his backpack and walking stick, “when his knee gave out and he slipped,” near the waterfront, said Susan McConnell, spokeswoman for Toronto paramedics.
“He didn’t have a phone with him so he couldn’t get help,” she said.
The man spent the night, through the storm, near the waterfront because he couldn’t walk any farther Wednesday. He managed to lift himself up on Thursday morning and continued walking on the rocks but slipped and fell, causing him to get stuck. He was there nearly two hours before Menzie found him.
The man seemed to be dehydrated and was assessed by a marine medic, said Const. Kevin Lee, spokesperson for the Marine Unit. Toronto Fire said the man only sustained a few scrapes from the incident and “will be fine and certainly have a story to tell in the future.”
Fire Capt. Adrian Ratushniak said most rescue calls in the Scarborough Bluffs area usually involve children who try to climb up or pets that tumble over the side.
“We get probably in the neighbourhood of 20 rescues for the Scarborough Bluffs every year,” Ratushniak said.
“For us to receive a call where a man’s got his foot stuck in the rocks and partially submerged in water is certainly a little unusual. I can say that I don’t think I’ve heard of that kind of situation in my career.”
Menzie’s name has been submitted for consideration to the Rescue and Merit Awards committee for his actions in helping the man.
“Had he stayed there much longer, he was to the point of near collapsing,” Menzie said. “I had to help. I didn’t think for a second about not helping. Thankfully, he wasn’t badly hurt. He’ll live to hike another day.”