A harrowing incident unfolded in the chilly morning hours on a reservoir in Greene-Sullivan State Forest, near Dugger, Indiana, where three men on a waterfowl hunting trip were thrust into a life-threatening situation. According to WISH-TV, the rescue operation commenced after the hunters' aluminum boat capsized on the ice-edged water, tossing two of the men into the freezing reservoir about 300 feet from the shore at approximately 9:22 a.m. Wednesday.
Struggling for salvation, Coleman Chasteen, 35, clad in a life jacket, managed to propel himself to an island a mere 90 feet away, while his companion, David Thornton, 34, remained stranded in the gelid embrace of the lake, eventually receiving the life jacket from Chasteen, a literal lifeline in the insidious cold according to the account in The Outdoor Wire. Kyle Britton, 25, found himself marooned in a kayak, witness to the perilous scene around him, as time was pacing quickly against the favor of the imperiled men.
Emerging as the day's undoubted hero, Conservation Officer Matt Landis, donned in a dry suit, life jacket, and with rescue rope in tow, effected the hands-on retrieval of Thornton, who had by now languished for what seemed an eternity, 50 minutes in the frigid water, the dire minutes chronicled by WWBL. Post-rescue, Thornton was whisked away by Lifeline Helicopter to Eskenazi Hospital in Indianapolis, where, against the bleak odds, he remained conscious, alert, and mobile upon his departure from the scene of the ordeal.
Subsequent efforts by conservation officers employed the use of an airboat that safely returned the trio and their gear, including the upended boat and solitary kayak, back to the terra firma; these efforts were bolstered by the presence and aid of multiple agencies, including Sullivan County Sheriff’s Department and local police and fire departments as WISH-TV noted their involvement.
