Two girls, 12 and 13-years-old, were stranded for four hours on a paddle boat that was towing two pit bulls in a dinghy, on Horsehoe Bay Sunday evening.
Horsehoe Bay is a small body of water on the south side of Batchawana Bay on Lake Superior about 35 km north of Sault Ste. Marie and surrounded on land by the lakeside cottages of Haviland Shores Drive.
Horseshoe Bay is on the south side of Batchawana Bay (marked). 'Jolly Island' can be seen to the left of the red dot. Google MapsHorseshoe Bay-residents Terri and Rick Elliott, said they helped guide the girls to safety and were given a firsthand account of what happened.
The Elliots said that on Sunday afternoon the girls loaded their two pit bulls onto an inflatable dinghy and ventured out in their paddle boat to visit Jolly Island on Horseshoe Bay.
At some point a piece of nylon, perhaps used as a leash for the dogs or to tow the dinghy, got tangled in the rudders and paddle wheel of the boat.
Unable to steer or peddle the girls became stranded on what the Elliot’s describe as a ‘choppy’ Horseshoe Bay.
After floating for hours, the paddle boat drifted within 50 meters of the Elliott’s lakeside property, on the opposite side of the bay from where the girls started.
At that point the girls spotted Terri Elliott on her back deck and started blowing a safety whistle while standing up and waving to get her attention
Terri, not realizing they had lost control, went to the shore and tried to guide the girls in.
Fortunately, the wind and waves shifted and carried the girls' boat naturally to the beach near the Elliott's cottage.
The Elliotts said the girls ‘were frozen’ and the couple got blankets to warm them up and other neighbours, now alerted, rushed to the shore to help as well.
The pit bulls were fine said the Elliotts.
The girls had arrived on shore at 7:50 p.m. but at around 7:30 p.m. they had made a 911 call with a cellphone they had on board but whose battery was almost dead, said Constable Monique Baker of the Ontario Provincial Police.
Because of that call, OPP, Goulais River Fire and Rescue, Emergency Medical Services from Sault Ste. Marie, and Batchewana Police Services were dispatched.
By the time first responders were on scene the girls had just gotten out of the water said Baker.
The girls told police they were on the water for four hours and were very cold.
EMS treated them for minor hypothermia but no further medical care was needed said Baker.
Baker said “it was very windy and wavy… it’s fortunate everything was okay. It’s a good reminder for young people that when they head out to the water that they notify someone that they are going. Things could have had a different outcome if the winds picked up and bystanders were not around… It doesn't’t take long on those rough waters for something to go wrong.”
Baker commended the girls for bringing all the proper safety equipment — which included life jackets, a whistle, and a cellphone — and for making the 911 call.
