LINDON, Utah, Aug. 3, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — Seven people were rescued from a sinking boat on Utah Lake on Saturday thanks to a good Samaritan’s willingness to sacrifice his drone.
Emergency dispatchers received a call around 11 a.m. about a boat that had left Lindon Marina and was taking on water, Utah County Sheriff‘s Sgt. Spencer Cannon told Gephardt Daily.
The only information provided was that the boat was somewhere between Lindon Marina and Saratoga Springs, which is about 7 miles, Cannon said.
“That’s a big section of the lake,” he said.
A Lindon police officer responded and met a man who was preparing to launch a drone from Lindon Marina, Cannon said. When the man asked the officer if it was OK to launch the drone, the officer asked for his assistance.
“He launched his drone, and about 2 1/2 miles out, he found a boat with people in the water,” Cannon said.
There were seven people — three adults, two teenagers and two toddlers — on the boat when it started to sink, he said.
The drone operator was able to get a GPS reading on the boat and shared that with the multiple responding agencies.
Unfortunately, the drone’s battery life was low, Cannon said, but the operator chose to sacrifice it to locate the sinking boat.
The boat was found about 2.5 miles from Lindon Marina and 1.15 miles from American Fork Beach and Boat Harbor, Cannon said.
“He did that knowing there was a good chance his drone wouldn’t make it back,” he said. “The battery went out, and the drone went down in the lake.”
Assistance from the drone operator likely saved searchers at least an hour in locating the sinking boat.
“Had this gentleman with the drone not pushed it to the point where his drone couldn’t make it back, we would have spent more time looking for them,” Cannon said.
Several agencies pitched in to help rescue the boaters. In addition to the Utah County Sheriff’s Office and Lindon police, Utah State Parks, Orem Fire Department and the Utah Department of Public Safety helicopter also responded.
All seven people were rescued without injury, Cannon said.
“Other than being a little tired, scared and having a problem with their boat, they’re all going to be OK,” he said.
An off-duty Orem firefighter helped tow the group’s boat back to Lindon Marina, Cannon said.
“A lot of people pitched in on this one to help get them back,” he said.
