By Kathy Coffta
The Post-Standard
OSWEGO COUNTY, N.Y. — A Dutch man who fell overboard into Lake Ontario was found about two miles from where the U.S. Coast Guard found his wife and boat about eight hours earlier Tuesday.
Dick Slettenhaar, 58, of the Netherlands, was treated for mild hypothermia, according to the Coast Guard. He and his wife, Ellen Kupers, 57, were sailing from the Canadian side of Main Duck Island, headed to Oswego, when Slettenhaar fell overboard while trying to fix a sail about 2:30 p.m., according to Executive Petty Officer Shaun Cross.
Oswego County 911 Director Michael Allen said that Kupers called 911 about 3 p.m. using her cell phone.
“We tracked her exact location using the phone and then turned it over to the Coast Guard,” Allen said.
He said Kupers, who was distraught when she called, didn’t know basic rescue procedures for the boat. Allen said Oswego County law enforcement agencies did not have any boats in the water at the time of the call so they turned the emergency over to the Coast Guard.
Cross said most boaters use the onboard radio to call for help.
“She tried to do that but couldn’t get the call to go through,” Cross said.
Cross and Allen said that Slettenhaar fell in the water about 13 miles north of Oswego.
“When the initial call came in, we weren’t sure if he was in Canadian or American waters,” Cross said. “That’s why Canada responded with us.”
Cross said that when Slettenhaar was found, about two miles from where Kupers was, the Canadian rescue team had gone back in for the night.
“We had two helicopters in the area out of Detroit, and one boat,” he said.
He said the Canadians provided a helicopter, a boat and a C-130 airplane to help with the search effort.
Cross said the Coast Guard crew stayed on the scene because they felt confident they could find Slettenhaar.
“We had very good information. We knew he fell in the water with his life jacket and that the jacket did inflate. We also knew the general area where he was going to be found, so we weren’t about to give up.”
Petty Officer William Mitchell said the couple left Prince Edward Bay in Canada on their catamaran and camped Monday night at Main Duck Island, part of the St. Lawrence Islands National Park of Canada.