St. Cloud Man Rescued After His Boat Capsized on Rice Lake
PAYNESVILLE -- A St. Cloud man was rescued after his boat overturned on Rice Lake Monday afternoon.
The Stearns County Sheriff's Office says around 4:00 p.m. they responded to a call of an overturned boat with a man floating nearby on Rice Lake in Eden Township.
Authorities say the caller and his neighbor were able to use a pontoon to rescue the man and pull the boat back to shore.
The sheriff's office says the owner of the capsized boat, 66-year-old William Henrichs, was going northeast by the point on Patricia Street when the combination of large waves from the wind and motor failure caused the back of the boat to fill up with water and eventually flip over.
Authorities say he was wearing an inflatable life jacket, but it did not auto-inflate. Officials say he was able to find the manual inflation cord and waited in the water for about 10 to 15 minutes before he was rescued.
The sheriff's office says Heinrichs was cold, but not hurt in the incident.