A Fox Creek man is being hailed as a hero after helping rescue eight people from Iosegun Lake. Constable Julie Lefebvre was responding to a 9-1-1 call for a capsized boat Sunday afternoon, when the local businessman and volunteer firefighter was waved down.
“As I was making my way out there, I was advised that this local hero had volunteered his boat to go look for those people in the water. Had he not volunteered his boat for us to use, it would have taken way longer to get to those people, and things could have ended up very differently.”
Lefebvre says the closest RCMP boat is in Whitecourt, meaning it would have been hours before they were on the water. In just minutes, a man was found hanging on to a capsized fishing kayak, and then three more were found on another overturned boat, with four more on the shore. The anonymous hero also towed their boat back in.
The capsized boaters were all wearing lifejackets, but were in various stages of hypothermia. They included five adults between 31 and 54 years old, and children aged one and six years old. Fortunately four off-duty EMS personnel were already at the lake, camping for the weekend.
The accident was likely due to pilot error, as there wasn’t a strong wind at the time. The hero has asked to remain anonymous.