Boaters rescued after canoe and inflatable overcome by 6’ waves on Lake Murray

Chapin, SC (Paul Kirby) Several boaters are safe after the combined effort of first responders rescued one from an island on Lake Murray near Chapin and others made it to the mainland while 6’ waves threatened to swamp the small boats they were in Monday evening. According to Captain Robert McCullough with the SCDNR, the boaters apparently were in an inflatable and a canoe on the wind-swept lake when they got in trouble near the end of Old Lexington Hwy. on Lake Murray.

One of the boaters that was in an inflatable that got into trouble in the high-winds made it to the mainland safely. That person had a phone, was able to locate a house number, and directed rescuers from the fire service, the sheriff’s department, and the SCDNR to the location where she had come ashore on Heimatsweg Road. McCullough said the other person, her brother, was in a canoe and made it to an island where rescuers were able to retrieve him. All boaters were checked by crew members from Lexington EMS, but didn’t appear to be seriously injured.

Lake wind advisories were in effect Monday evening with sustained winds above 16-mph and gusts that often exceeded 25 mph at the time that the boaters got into distress. Although the temperatures were in the low 50’s at the time, the wind-chill factor was in the mid to lower 40’s.