BEMUS POINT – Four duck hunters are expected to recover after they were rescued by first responders when their boat overturned in Chautaqua Lake early Saturday.
The Chautaqua County Sheriff’s Office says around 6 a.m. a person ashore called 911 when they heard distress calls coming from the lake near Bemus Point.
Sheriff’s Deputies and members of the Chautauqua County Wet Emergency Team arrived on scene within five minutes for a search.
They discovered that a 15′ outboard vessel for waterfowl hunting had overturned, leaving four hunters in the water for approximately 30 minutes.
All four were experiencing symptoms of hypothermia and unable to swim. Only one person was wearing a flotation device at the time.
Deputies were able to swim out and bring in two men. The Bemus Point and Ellery Center Volunteer Fire Departments used watercraft to rescue the remaining two.
The four are identified as Daniel Auria, Jonathan Bellardo, Matthew Calimeri, and Howard Talbot, all of Chautauqua County.
They were taken to UPMC Chautauqua Hospital for treatment of hypothermia symptoms and are expected to recover fully.
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