Prairie du Chien Coast Guard Auxiliary crew saves man from drowning

On Sept. 12, a U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary crew from the Prairie du Chien Flotilla was returning from patrol when crew members observed a man fall from a dock at the Winneshiek Marina north of Prairie du Chien. The man disappeared beneath the water. Quick action by the crew of the Kaylee-Annie located the man who was still beneath the surface and pulled him onto the dock preventing his drowning.

Coxswain Steve Gress stated that he reached under the water trying to locate the man and finally found him still submerged and being pulled beneath the dock by the current. Gress pulled him to the surface, and with crew member Joanie Dickerson, pulled the man from the water onto the dock.

The victim, wet but otherwise fine, declined medical attention and after a slight rest thanked the Auxiliarists who came to his rescue. He then departed.

“A dock can be a dangerous place. The motion of the water affects one’s equilibrium and tosses the dock about,” said Prairie du Chien Flotilla spokesman A. J. Sullivan. “Add to that the normal rough and weathered construction and you have a situation requiring careful and attentive walking. At the water’s edge, the result of one misstep can be disastrous.”

The Auxiliary recommends wearing a life jacket whenever around the water.