On 4/25/09 I was contacted by State Park Ranger 1 in reference to a boat that sunk at Hillsdale Lake early in the morning.  Ranger 1 spoke with Operator1 whose boat sank around 1:00 am that morning.  Four subjects had to swim to shore with the boat completely submerged however no one was injured.

On 4/26/09 at approximately 10:00 a.m. I made contact with Operator1 at his residence near Hillsdale Lake, 31175 W 268th Terrace.

Operator1 stated he and three others, Passenger1, Passenger2 and Passenger 3 had been fishing on Hillsdale starting around 9:00 pm Friday night, 4/24/09.  The subjects were fishing in a cove straight west of Marysville boat ramp.  Operator1 had to work the next morning so he started the motor around 12:45 a.m. Saturday and headed across the lake towards Jayhawk boat ramp where they had started.  Operator1 stated there was some wind blowing when they began fishing but that is was not too bad to cross the lake.  As they left the protection of the cove and hit the main lake, the wind was blowing much harder than when they arrived.  

Operator1 stated he had been going slow to keep the boat from rocking too bad and about fifteen minutes from leaving the cove he realized a minnow bucket was floating and they had taken on quite a bit of water.  Operator1 stated he thought about turning around and trying for Marysville boat ramp when he saw the minnow bucket start to float but very soon after a large wave came into the boat and it began to sink.  Operator1 stated the personal flotation devices (PFD’s) were out and by the time they had put them on the boast was completely submerged.  Operator1 stated they were in the water for almost four hours before making it to shore on the point west of Marysville cove.  Operator1 stated they walked to Marysville and then all the way across the dam before someone stopped and called for help.  Ranger 1 met Operator1 at the entrance to Hillsdale near the dam.

At this time the boat has not been recovered for inspection, Operator1 stated he was near the middle of the lake west of Marysville boat ramp when he last saw the bow of the boat underwater.  I walked the shoreline and found all four PFD’s and a black jack in the area where Operator1 stated they had come ashore.
Hillsdale                     