Halloween is supposed to be a time when young and old alike turn their thoughts to candy and costumes.
But this year, the night turned almost fatal for two men who had to be rescued from Blue Ridge Lake.
Kevin Panter, veteran firefighter/EMT, said an emergency page went out at 10:30 p.m. Saturday night, October 31, that two subjects were in the lake and that their boat had capsized.
Their only known location was reported as somewhere around the Dry Branch area.
Panter said he was at home at the time and radioed for two more Fannin County rescue personnel to meet him at the marina.
From there, the trio boarded Panter’s pontoon boat and headed toward the Dry Branch area. Panter said he used his personal boat because he knew it was readily available and would respond quicker than the fire department’s rescue boat.
During this time, Panter said the Fannin County 911 Center lost cell service with the subjects, but was able to get it back.
Headed up the lake, the rescuers spotted the victim’s cellphone flashlight.
Two men, who were identified as being from the Blue Ridge area, were holding onto their boat, only the bottom of which was above the water. “They were holding on to one little spot,” Panter said.
The victims were soaking wet, cold and did not have life jackets.
They were loaded onto Panter’s boat and taken to the shore where other Fannin County rescue personnel were waiting.
From the time the emergency was paged until the victims were safely on the pontoon boat was only 22 minutes.
Panter said the men reported being out on the lake to view the full moon.