A family’s incident on the water serves as a reminder to make safety a priority while trying to beat the heat.
It was just after 11:30 on Tuesday, July 7th when the Barron County Sheriff’s Department received a 911 call of several people in the water and a boat out of control on Prairie Lake just outside Chetek.
Initial investigation shows that 2 adults and 3 kids were tubing on the water; dad and 2 kids in the boat and mom and 1 kid on the tube. The boat had a tiller motor. The boat struck a series of waves which caused the dad and one kid to be thrown overboard. The kid remaining in the boat jumped out as he was scared. The boat did strike one of the kids but he did not require any medical attention.
Everyone in the water was picked up by a passerby and taken to shore and all refused medical treatment. The Barron County Recreation Deputy went out in a patrol boat and used a rope to jam up the propeller to get the boat to stop. The deputy then gained control of the boat and brought it to shore and authorities remind all water goers to wear life jackets.
