Francis Hoefer Jr., of Oswego, said his parents raised him to always help out whenever he can.
Francis Hoefer Jr. stands near where he was fishing Tuesday as two fishermen from the Southern Tier were swept down the Oswego River in high water. Oswego, NY -- Tuesday was shaping up to be a fine day of fishing for Francis Hoefer Jr. of Oswego.
At about 11:30 a.m., the 29-year-old town of Oswego resident settled on the west bank of the Oswego River with hooking salmon on his mind. Things were going well: He caught a few, but let them go.
An hour into it, the calm changed to mayhem.
Hoefer saw two men — fishing up river from him — get swept away by rapidly rising water. Two others were hanging onto a sign post fighting the water to stay alive.
“The water rose over their waders. You can’t do anything when the water gets that high,” he said.
This began the frantic scene that ended in the death of one fisherman and the hospitalization of another. The two who clung to the pole eventually were rescued by boat with no serious injury. Leonard M. Nichols, 45, of Wellsburg, Chemung County, died at Oswego Hospital. Clifford Luther, 52, of Horseheads, Chemung County, remains in critical condition at the hospital.
During the frenzy, Hoefer was doing his best to help with the rescue effort.
“I was fishing up behind the Ritz (restaurant along West First Street),” Hoefer said. “Those guys were there fishing, a couple hundred feet away up by the hydro dam. They were standing on the edge, near where it drops off.”
The warning siren to alert fishermen of rising water went off shortly before Hoefer arrived. He said another fisherman told him it went off about 11 a.m.
Hoefer said the four men got out of the water. The river level started to go down, so the four men returned to the water. Then the water level started to go up quickly. Hoefer said the water was rushing fast and the men had no chance.
Police said the investigation into the incident showed audible alert sirens were given in the area regarding the risk of rising water. The investigation continues regarding the time frame in which the alerts were given and when the water actually began to rise.
“Two of them got pulled away and were holding onto one other guy. Then they told him to just let go,” Hoefer said.
He said the two men in the water were moving fast down river.
“All of a sudden you see people casting at them, trying to hook them. One guy went by face down and someone threw a barrel at them,” Hoefer said.
“I casted out and hooked one guy, but my line broke. I had him on for 30 or 40 seconds,” he said.
By this time emergency crews from the Oswego fire and police departments had arrived.
“I kept my eye on them — where they were as they were floating by,” Hoefer said. “I kept directing them to where the men were as they floated down under the Bridge Street bridge.”
He continued running down the sidewalk along the river, yelling locations to the emergency personnel. Fire Chief Jeff McCrobie and police officer Damien Waters jumped into the river to rescue the men. Hoefer handed McCrobie his life jacket and a throw line before McCrobie went in, McCrobie said.
The fire department’s jet boat picked up the two men who were clinging to the sign poles. Police identified them as Wayne Weller of Watkins Glen, Schuyler County, and David Robinson, of Hancock, Delaware County. They were rescued by the fire department jet boat, checked out by paramedics and released.
After McCrobie and Waters secured the two men who drifted downstream, they were picked up by the Coast Guard near the old Coleman’s Restaurant, less than a mile from where they were first swept away. Coast Guard members began cardio-pulmonary resuscitation on one man who was unconscious and not breathing, said Coast Guard BM-1 Jadon Sprague.
“If (Hoefer) didn’t point them out in the river, it wouldn’t have been as fortunate of a resolution,” McCrobie said. “He really helped us out. We could have lost all four of them.”
Hoefer said his parents raised him to always help out whenever he can.
“If I can do something, I’m going to do it. If it means me running a mile and a half, I’ll do it,” he said. “They’re human beings.”
Contact Debra J. Groom at dgroom@syracuse.com, 470-3254 or 251-5586