2 rescued after hours in lake
Published: April 10, 2006
Suffering from leg cramps after nearly five hours in chilly water, two 20-year-olds were rescued from Lake Pontchartain by a Coast Guard helicopter Saturday night after their personal watercraft broke down.
Braden Marshland and Kyle Nugent, believed to be from the north shore, were hoisted onto the helicopter about 10 p.m. near Madisonville, Lt. Olav Saboe, a pilot, said.
Working with a Coast Guard boat and boats from the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office, Saboe and co-pilot Lt. Craig Murray searched for nearly three hours using night-vision goggles before finding Marshland and Nugent.
The helicopter was sent out about 7:15 p.m. Two other men swam to shore, but reported that Marshland and Nugent were not accounted for.
The missing men were found in chest-deep water about a half-mile from shore.
PO Justin Kirchmann, a flight mechanic, lowered a basket to the men and took them into the helicopter. Dave Foreman, a rescue swimmer, provided the initial medical treatment.
Saboe said the life preservers the men wore helped them survive despite the severe cramping.
“I’m not sure how much longer they could have held out,” Saboe said.
Besides, Saboe said, “we were running low on fuel.”
Marshland and Nugent, who had set out from the mouth of the Tchefuncte River, were taken to Madisonville and turned over to sheriff’s deputies for further care.
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