Constantia, NY -- A father-and-son fishing trip ended tragically Saturday morning when their small aluminum boat capsized on Oneida Lake. A rescue boat from the Constantia Fire Department rescued the son, who is in his 30s. However, dive teams from Oswego and Onondaga Counties are still searching for the father in an area between the Village of Constantia and the...
Constantia, NY -- A father-and-son fishing trip ended tragically Saturday morning when their small aluminum boat capsized on Oneida Lake.
A rescue boat from the Constantia Fire Department rescued the son, who is in his 30s. However, dive teams from Oswego and Onondaga Counties are still searching for the father in an area between the Village of Constantia and the hamlet of Bernhards Bay.
Authorities have not yet released the names of the victims, but a sheriff's deputy said they were from out of state.
“We’ve had a pretty stiff breeze all day,” said Chad Whitney, captain of the Constantia Fire Department. That resulted in choppy waves of about three to four feet, he said.
The rescued victim told police and fire officials that he and his father headed out early this morning to their fishing spot. Some time later, their boat capsized. The son was able to cling to the boat, but he lost sight of his father, Whitney said.
At about 9:30 a.m., another boater happened upon the capsized craft and called 911, he said.
Constantia had a boat in the water quickly and rescued the son within 10 minutes, Whitney said. He was taken ashore with non-life threatening injuries.
Whitney did not know if the two victims were wearing life jackets when the boat capsized.
A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter was sent from its base in Detroit to help with the search. It and helicopters from the State Police and Onondaga Air One have been sweeping the area all day to direct divers in their search.
Rescuers are also using side-scanning sonar, Whitney said.
The choppy waves are making it difficult for the searchers, he said. Saturday afternoon, an orange helicopter methodically scanned the wide lake, which had whitecaps.