MADISON, Wis. — The Dane County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO), Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Bruce’s Legacy and Wisconsin K9 SOS were out on Lake Monona on Thursday searching for a missing boater.
This comes after a sailboat and a kayak, carrying four people in total, capsized last Friday evening.
According to DCSO, a sailboat towing a kayak went onto Lake Monona Friday evening. That’s when strong winds capsized the vessel.
Kyle McNally is a sergeant with DCSO’s marine and trail enforcement division. He is leading the search efforts for the missing boater.
“They came out from shore and encountered high winds. They tried to turn around and it capsized the catamaran,” said McNally.
McNally said the people on the boat then tried to right the catamaran. When the four boaters got it upright, the wind took the sail, moving one boater away from the other three.
“There were only two life jackets available so only two people put on the life jackets, and one was trying to hold on to the kayak that was taking on water,” said McNally.
It is required by law that all vessels, including kayaks and paddleboards, have one life jacket for each person on board.
McNally said the boaters were in the water for an hour before a rescue team reached them.
“In that time, we lost one of the boaters. The two with life jackets on were rescued; the one on the catamaran made it to shore,” said McNally.
Over the past few days, the weather has made it tough for rescue crews to conduct thorough searches, but on Thursday, McNally said it was all hands on deck.
“You can see it is still pretty wavy today, but these conditions are fantastic compared to what we have been dealing with,” said McNally. “I think everything we can do to have a good outcome here has been put in place. Now we just hope it comes through.”
Nonprofit organization Bruce’s Legacy is using a tow fish, equipped with sonar, to scan the lake floor to assist in the search. Wisconsin K9 SOS is using cadaver dogs on boats and land.
The dive team is on standby in case the boater is found, and the Dane County Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Program (UAV) unit is flying drones from above.