A hunter found with hypothermia in waist-deep water was rescued Monday, according to information released by Johnson Creek Fire Chief Bruce Peterson.
According to the release, the department responded to a distress call received at 5:27 p.m., alerting it that an elderly male had become trapped in a “swampy area,” approximately one mile from the roadway along County Trunk Y, near Emerald Drive in the town of Watertown.
The release noted that the man had become “disoriented while deer hunting,” which led to him becoming “submerged in waist-deep water,” where he developed hypothermia after becoming unable to free himself from the mud.
Johnson Creek fire and EMS personnel, along with members of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department located the individual.
“It took approximately 30 minutes for fire and sheriff office personnel to remove the patient from the water,” the chief reported in the release.
“This turned out to be a serious incident that could have become tragic if it weren’t for the heroic work of the man’s friend in locating him in the dark, wooded, and swampy area,” Peterson was quoted as saying in the release.
The individual, once extracted from the mud, was removed from the “densely wooded and wet terrain,” and placed in a waiting ambulance, the release reported.
The removal process required between 10 and 12 rescuers who carried the individual on a backboard for about 40 minutes to reach dry land, the release noted.
Additionally, the release stated, “support from the Conservation Police and two Johnson Creek Fire Department ATVs proved instrumental in facilitating the extraction process. The rescued individual was treated for hypothermia at the scene and transported to the Watertown Hospital for further medical attention, according to the release.
Within the release, Peterson described efforts made by rescue personnel as “collaborative,” further stating: “This truly was a team effort between the fire department, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, Conservation Police, and the Jefferson County Communications staff to locate, extricate and safely remove the man from a very challenging location.”
Johnson Creek Fire and EMS station, File photo/Facebook.
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