Lima men part of Maumee River rescue

By JC REINDL, The Blade, Toledo, OhioFORT MIEGS - A stuck anchor line led to a cascading chain of events for an uncle and nephew on the Maumee River near Fort Meigs yesterday afternoon, culminating in a wet, cold, and frightening end to their fishing trip.After having spent the morning on the water, Dave Moore, 14, and Wes Britenstine, 52, of West Mansfield, were ready to call it a day at 1 p.m. and head to shore.Their 12-foot fishing boat was anchored in front of Fort Meigs near the Fort Meigs Memorial Bridge between Maumee and Perrysburg.But when the Moore youth tried hauling up the anchor, it wouldn't budge.So Mr. Britenstine revved the motor and attempted to maneuver the boat free of whatever the anchor was stuck on. The anchor rope then got caught in the boat's propeller, which shut down the engine and resulted in the vessel swinging around, recounted Mr. Britenstine, a self-employed water-well driller.Moments later, the stern dipped into the river and water began pouring in. The boat capsized in a matter of seconds."Next thing we knew, we're swimming," young Moore said. "I thought I was going to die."Mr. Britenstine, clad in heavy waders without a life jacket, fought to stay afloat.While the Moore youth wore a life jacket, he does not know how to swim.Mr. Britenstine "had waders and they were pulling him under. The boy was holding the old man up," recalled Lonny Benjamin, 59, of Lima, Ohio, who was in a boat about 100 yards away with his own nephew, Tony Benjamin and boat owner Rodney (Sam) Borger when he heard the teenager yell.The water's temperature was 49 degrees, cold enough for a person to lose consciousness in a half hour and experience hypothermia.Borger said his 18 foot duck-hunting boat was in the right place at the right time. "I had one of the bigger boats up there at the time," he said. "It's a pretty stable boat. It needed to be," Borger said.The Lima men threw their own boat into gear, swung up beside the pair, and pulled them aboard."You don't know what a good feeling it was to grab the side of that boat," Mr. Britenstine said.All five of them - plus Mr. Benjamin's catch of four walleye - squeezed onto the deck of the 18-foot boat as it deposited uncle and nephew safely on shore near Fort Meigs. It wasn't long before authorities and television crews began flooding the scene."Anytime you have warm temperatures and cold water, it's dangerous conditions," said Eric Christen, a watercraft officer with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, noting the contrast between yesterday's water temperature and air temperature in the mid-60s.Earlier in the morning, Maumee rescuers found a canoe that had overturned in the river near the I-475 bridge. The occupant, a man believed to be about 60, was helped to shore by fishermen, authorities said.With uncle and nephew safe on land, the three fishermen returned to Mr. Britenstine's capsized vessel and pulled the light green boat to shore as well. The anchor remains stuck on the bottom of the river.After changing into dry clothes, the rescued pair returned to thank Mr. Benjamin; his nephew, Tony Benjamin, 40, and their friend, Rodney Borger, 43."They saved our lives and our boat," Mr. Britenstine said, adding, "We swallowed a lot of the Maumee River."Lima News staff contributed to this story.