INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis Fire Department was wrapping up their pre-planned boat training exercise on Geist Reservoir Saturday afternoon, when officers from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources approached them and asked for assistance.
The team then helped conduct a different kind of dive rescue.
IFD says a woman was was enjoying the day on her family's anchored pontoon boat when she accidentally lost her titanium/carbon fiber leg in an area of Geist known as "Family Cove."
Without hesitation, the crew gathered their dive equipment from the rescue truck and hopped into DNR's boat.
With help from the owner of the leg, the crew was able to assess a general "last known location" and begin the search.
The IFD dive team and tenders conducted a boat dive and three divers spent about 20 minutes attempting to locate the lost leg.
They found sunglasses, an anchor and multiple beer bottles, which in zero visibility felt like it could be the leg - to no avail, IFD said in a release.
After an hour, the divers and DNR were about ready to call off the search. But then on the final pass for the third diver, the leg was located 20 feet down, about 100 yards off shore.
"All smiles for both the firefighters, DNR officers and the very grateful family, who despite the potential loss of a very valuable item, maintained a sense of humor and were extremely helpful by staying on scene and near the last known location," IFD said in a release.
