Family Tips Over Canoe In Turkey Creek Sanctuary
By Space Coast Daily // July 19, 2012
No Injuries Sustained
BREVARD COUNTY • PALM BAY, FLORIDA – Police dispatchers in Palm Bay answered received a frantic call for help Wednesday morning from a family that was canoeing through Turkey Creek Sanctuary.
Palm Bay Police spokeswoman Yvonne Martinez said that about 11:40 a.m. Wednesday a dispatcher received a 911 call from a woman who said her husband, daughter and son had tipped over their canoe while traversing waters in the Turkey Creek Sanctuary.
The caller told the dispatcher that her 64-year-old husband couldn’t swim and was holding on to a log in the middle of the canal.
Martinez said life vests were on board the canoe, but were washed away by the currents.
The caller could not provide rescuers with their exact location, but said the boat was launched from the area of the dam and they were somewhere near the Brook Hollow subdivision.
Martinez said that a Palm Bay firefighter commandeered a neighbor’s canoe from the Fallon Boulevard and Granville Street area and followed the creek path east of the dam where he found the three stranded individuals and secured them.
“We solicited the assistance of personnel from the Palm Bay Marina who provided a boat to pick them up,” Martinez said. “All personnel were returned to dry land safely.”
The rescue was a well-coordinated effort between the Palm Bay Police and Palm Bay Fire Department staff, according to Martinez.
Palm Bay Fire Department Chief Jim Stables also was at the scene to assist in the rescue.
None of the people aboard the canoe were injured
