Two Survive After Boat Sinks On Webster LakeNORTH WEBSTER – A hunter was hospitalized after his boat sank Saturday morning on Webster Lake.
According to a news release from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Division of Law Enforcement, despite frigid temperatures and wind gusts forecast to reach up to 50 miles per hour, Trenton Stackhouse, 27, Milford, and Darick Stiles, 27, Warsaw, set out to hunt waterfowl on Webster Lake near Epworth Forest. After getting underway, the men quickly realized the conditions were too difficult to overcome. They attempted to gather their decoys and return to the boat ramp when large waves overtook their jon boat and it began to sink, the release states.
Moments before their boat became fully submerged, Stackhouse and Stiles unsuccessfully attempted to don their lifejackets and were forced to grab several waterfowl decoys and a floating gun for buoyancy to swim several hundred yards to shore.
Once on shore, Stackhouse became unresponsive due to severe hypothermia. Stiles then entered an unoccupied home to find shelter to save Stackhouse.
At 11:16 a.m. Saturday, Kosciusko County Dispatch was contacted by a residential alarm company after they were alerted to an unauthorized residential entry to a home on Webster Lake.
Stackhouse was taken to Kosciusko Community Hospital with severe hypothermia, the release states.
The incident remains under investigation.
Responding agencies include North Webster Police and Fire Departments, EMS and Indiana conservation officers.
Indiana conservation officers remind the public that Indiana law requires life jackets to be readily accessible and in good condition for all boat occupants while underway. Hunters using watercraft should plan for severe environmental conditions associated with strong winds and storms.
