DETROIT (FOX 2) – The J.W. Westcott II is the mailboat on the Detroit River – boasting “We deliver for you.” It should also say – in more ways than one.
Deckhand JC Sharp was on board the J.W. Westcott II – searching for a man in the river Monday night after hearing an emergency broadcast over the marine radio.
“Captain Neil (Schultheiss) was in there piloting – I was up here on the front deck – I just kept scanning left to right,” Sharp said. “We headed upriver, and right around 11 p.m. we saw a gentleman floating down the river – he was attempting to swim across.”
From Windsor to Detroit – someone on the Canadian side had spotted him and thrown him a flotation device.
“This gentleman had on blue jeans and a sweater jacket or a hoodie. He was sitting on a life ring – a circle life ring, and he was floating in that,” Sharp said.
It was so dark – he was barely visible. Cold and disoriented – he needed help.
“We were able to use this shepherd’s hook – and we could reach it down into the water – we were able to pull him in to the vessel,” Sharp said. “It was very difficult to pull him in to the vessel. We just started with his arms – worked our way to his armpits and eventually I was able to grab him by his waistband and pull him over the edge fully.”