TWIN PORTS, Minn. — The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office responded to a water-related emergency on Lake Superior Wednesday night.
“Around 11 p.m. we were notified of a water emergency at the upper entrance. A boat hit some rocks, taking on water and sinking,” said St. Louis County Rescue Sgt. Carter Nelson.
The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office said the 35-foot-long boat collided with the breach wall on the Minnesota side. Then it washed up on the rocks along the wall.
The search and rescue team sergeant then confirmed that all occupants were wearing life jackets and everyone was able to get ashore with the help of first responders. No one suffered serious injuries.
Meanwhile, a passerby was on a nearby beach with his friend lighting a fire. And ended up being in the right place at the right time.
“As I’m sitting there talking to him, a dog comes out of the water. Out of the blue,” said witness to the accident, Tom Acton.
In the midst of the accident, the dog on board the boat jumped into the water and immediately swam to shore.
“We never saw any flares. We never got a distress call last night. I mean I’m sitting right here, if he had his flare we would have seen him because he was right there,” Tom said.
It was something Tom described as surreal, but he was grateful he and his friend were there to comfort the dog and make sure he got home safe and sound.
“The dog is fine. The dog was fantastic. Whoever owns this dog is a wonderful dog. It was just wanted to be loved and held, and I’m sure he was scared to hell. You know, he had to jump out of a boat and swim around to find people,” Acton said.
Even though it was a weird night for them. The dog was eventually returned to its owner.
And while the crews work to pull the boat out of the water. They remind everyone that when boating, especially at night, wear a life jacket and always stay alert
“If you’re sailing at night, it’s always good to slow things down a bit. You’re going to rely heavily on your tracers, not line of sight. So just have some experiences on the water before you go out at night and make sure you use those plotters and echosounders and everything else while you’re out there,” Carter said.