PERU, Indiana — An Indiana conservation officer saved the life of a Kokomo man who was thrown from his boat on Mississinewa Lake Thursday.
According to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, 76-year-old Robert Boyd was on his boat around 10:25 a.m. when he was thrown from the vessel. Conservation officer Hunter Law was patrolling the area and heard a boat's engine rev, then quickly turn off.
He located the unoccupied boat in the lake, then found Boyd under the surface of the water.
The boater was taken to shore, where medics took him to Community Howard Regional Health to be checked out.
Investigators said Boyd was not wearing a personal flotation device, but a safety lanyard turned off the boat's engine when he was ejected.
"Without this safety precaution, the boat could have circled Boyd or struck another object," DNR wrote in a release.
The agency urges all boaters to wear a flotation device when they're on the water and for boat operators to wear a safety lanyard.
The conservation officers at the scene were assisted by Wabash Fire-EMS and the Mississinewa Park & Reservoir staff.
