What started out as an attempt to rescue a runaway fishing boat almost ended in disaster for Troy Batchelor.
And if not for the quick work of neighbors and law enforcement, it very well could have ended much differently for the 53-year-old Parker, Colorado, man.
When a neighbor told Batchelor, the owner of Devil Track cabins, that his fishing boat had escaped from the shore and was floating out in the lake, Troy jumped into his kayak to fetch it. That was about 2 p.m. on Sunday, October 18.
“Within five minutes, the wind came up and blew him into the middle of the lake,” said Troy’s wife, Linda. “We had packed up everything, including the life jackets because we were closing the cabins down for the season, so he wasn’t wearing a life jacket.”
It wasn’t too long after, that the wind-driven rough water overturned Troy’s kayak, pitching him into the cold water. He held onto his small craft while calling for help. At one point, Linda said, “He wrapped his arm around the netting underneath the kayak because he thought that if he died, he didn’t want anyone to have to drag the lake to find his body.”
Luckily Batchelor’s cries for help were heard and reported to authorities. Meanwhile, nearby neighbors sprang into action and began a rescue effort.
“We got a notice on the scanner around 2:30 p.m. that there was a kayaker overturned out on Devil Track,” said Ann Mershon. “At the same time, our neighbor, Linda, came to ask if we had binoculars to look for her husband, who was out in a little kayak chasing his runaway fishing boat.
“When she realized it was Troy, she was frantic. We drove the mile down to Sand Point (where the action was), and there were two Search and Rescue people, and we could barely see Troy far out on the lake waving from beside his overturned kayak. The temperature was about 30 degrees F, and I’m sure the water wasn’t much warmer. I ran to a neighbor (Scott Smith) to see if he had a canoe, but he was gone, and I couldn’t find paddles. Jerry took off in the car while I was at the Smiths, and from there, I just helped Linda call to him—he was screaming HELP from out on the lake.”
Mershon said, “When we got back to the point, we were told a Sheriff ’s boat was on the way, and a neighbor (Tom Bernier) had trailered his motorboat to the point and got it out on the water (after fighting the motor, which he hadn’t used for four years). Meanwhile, two people were coming from the west shore, paddling a canoe like mad. They got to Troy first and were able to keep him up until the bigger boats arrived.”
Meanwhile, Cook County Sheriff ’s Deputy Jon Baumann and Deputy Ben Hallberg were on the scene. They launched a patrol watercraft and went to Batchelor, who was in serious trouble. When the officer got to Batchelor, two men in a canoe who had arrived a few moments before were assisting him. Working together, the men got Bachelor into the patrol boat and he was transported to Sand Point, where members of the Cook County First Responders, North Shore Health Ambulance, and US Border Patrol were waiting. Batchelor was transported to North Shore Health.
“Little did we know (until I got home) that it was Jerry Wilkes (my husband) and his friend Bob Faraone,” said Mershon, of the two men who paddled by canoe to Troy. When the sheriff ’s deputies brought Batchelor to the ambulance waiting at Sand Point he was still conscious and able to walk to the gurney with lots of help, said Mershon, adding, “It was miraculous that he was alive after over a half-hour in the water.”
As for Sheriff Pat Eliasen, he was quick to praise the work of all who were involved. “The quick and precise actions of Deputy Baumann, Deputy Hallberg, and Cook County Search and Rescue member Tyson Smith were the key to turning this event from a tragedy into a successful rescue, and we are all fortunate to have selfless people like this in our community dedicated to delivering the highest quality public safety to everyone.”
As for Batchelor, he spent the night in the hospital and then was released. His wife said his fingers still tingle, but he is well on his way to making a full recovery.
“He passed out a couple of times while he was in the water and then would wake up and say, “’I’m not going to die today,’” said Linda.
“If not for all of the rescuers, the sheriff ’s deputies,
Search and Rescue, Border Patrol, neighbors, and others whose names I don’t even know. If not for their efforts, if they hadn’t been there to help him, I think I would have lost my husband. We have been married for 35 years and I thought I was going to lose him. They are all heroes, selfless and thinking of helping someone in trouble. I can’t thank everyone enough who helped him,” she added through halting breaths.
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