3 jet skiers rescued on Hudson River
HYDE PARK, N.Y. » Three Pennsylvania residents who became lost and disoriented in the Hudson River on a return trip from Albany on jet skis were rescued late Saturday, the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office said.
A fourth jet skier made her way safely in the dark all the way to the Newburgh boat ramp, Lt. Shawn Castano said Sunday. Personal water craft, commonly known as jet skis, do not have navigational lights, he said.
Castano said all of the rescued individuals, who were not identified by name, are in their mid-50s.
At about 11 p.m., the Sheriff’s Office was notified by Dutchess County 911 of a personal watercraft in distress on the river near the Norrie Point Marina in Staatsburg, according to a press release. Two sheriff’s office boats, the city Of Poughkeepsie Fire boat and a state police helicopter were dispatched to the scene along with Roosevelt Fire Department and Northern Dutchess Paramedics.
Rescuers on land saw flares on the river and a Sheriff’s boat found a man and a woman riding one personal watercraft west of Esopus Island. The pair was brought to the marina and evaluated by EMS, but refused medical attention, Castano said.
The two rescued jet skiers informed police that they had been traveling with two other individuals who might also be lost, he said. The pair said they had abandoned a disabled watercraft upriver and it was being towed back by the fourth missing subject, a man, Castano said.
The jet skiers told police they had launched the personal watercraft at the city of Newburgh boat ramp earlier in the day Saturday, traveled up to Albany and, on the return trip, became disoriented. Castano said their cell phones had all lost power during the return trip.
Deputies checked local marinas and boat clubs by land in search of the two missing jet skiers while boats and a helicopter continued searching the river, police said. A sheriff’s deputy found the third person at the Newburgh boat ramp.
About two hours into the search, a Sheriff’s boat located a male subject with two partially submerged personal watercraft in a shallow area of the river known as the Esopus Meadows, northwest of the Esopus Lighthouse. Castano said the man had become “stuck and the personal water craft [he had been riding] was virtually buried in the muck and vegetation.”
The man was taken by boat to the Norrie Point Marina where he was evaluated by EMS and further also refused further medical attention. Castano said rescuers were concerned for the man’s safety as temperatures Saturday night dropped into the low 60s.
Three of the subjects were ticketed for driving a personal watercraft after sunset in violation of state Navigation Law.
In addition to state and local
police and rescue personnel, two citizens in a private boat — one a retired police officer and the other a local tow truck operator — also
assisted in the rescue, police said.
Castano said all four were “very fortunate” to have been rescued unharmed.