RAINIER, Ore. (AP) - Bystanders who spotted a 72-year-old man clinging to a line attached to a fishing boat in the cold waters of a Columbia River marina used what was handy to rescue him - a fishing pole, a rope and a cooler.
The Daily News of Longview, Washington, says (https://is.gd/63uO3b ) Harold Caulfield spent nearly 20 minutes in the cold water Friday.
Rainier, Oregon, police say the man slipped and fell into the water as he walked his boat up a ramp at the Rainier Marina.
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Nearby fisherman Jim Nicklous saw the boat drifting into the river. Nicklous had nothing but his fishing pole. He cast and snagged a rope on the boat. Amazingly, the fishing line held - and kept the boat from drifting farther.
Eventually, public works employees and a Rainier police officer tied a cooler to a rope and threw the improvised flotation device to Caulfield. Police say he was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
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Information from: The Daily News, https://www.tdn.com
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