Confused Location Delays Water Response

Three men in a capsized boat off the coast of Sheboygan (Wisc.) were dumped into the cold water, and one managed to dial as he clung to the hull. However, his description of their location during an interrupted 911 call led the Coast Guard to search in the wrong location. One man died, while the other two were rescued when a helicopter spotted them. The call was answered by a dispatcher at the Sheboygan County sheriff’s comm center, and did not show any location since the call was made from an older cellular phone. The caller said, “We’re out on the lake” and, “We’re getting swamped.” When the dispatcher asked for their location, he said, “Straight out from the harbor—100 feet of water.” The call then ended seconds later. The unnamed dispatcher believed the incident was occurring within 100 feet of the city’s harbor, and relayed the information to a Sheboygan PD dispatcher. The Coast Guard was notified within two minutes, and began searching closer to shore. In fact, the caller meant the boat was in water 100 feet deep, which would be much further from shore. About 20 minutes later, the location was corrected and the Coast Guard moved the search further from shore. Read more about the incident and listen to the 911 call here. Update: After an investigation, sheriff’s dispatchers will now call the Coast Guard directly and immediately upon receiving a Sheboygan harbor incident, instead of calling the city police. The sheriff and police chief also issued a report that said “system shortcomings and human error” caused the delay, including the calltaker’s lack of knowledge about water depth in the Sheboygan area. Read about the investigation here.