On June 28, a sunny afternoon at the Boundary Dam beach turned into a shocking one after a boat occupied by three men began to take water, but the actions of a quick-thinking Estevan man prevented the situation from becoming disastrous.
Prior to the accident, Jamie Molyneux, who performed the rescue with his boat, was soaking in the sun with his daughter, who was celebrating her birthday with some friends earlier that day. A few others were occupying the beach and all was well.
"Next thing you know, I hear a couple people on the beach yelling, 'They need help! Their boat is sinking!'" Molyneux recalled. "People were pointing to the middle of the (reservoir), and all I saw were people's heads floating."
He said he caught a brief glimpse of the boat sinking, but the water accumulated in the boat so quickly that it sank seconds after it was pointed out to him. Molyneux and another gentleman pushed his boat out into the water, and within a minute, he reached the three people treading water halfway between the beach and the other side of the reservoir.
"The one guy couldn't swim. He was holding onto a cooler, which was the only thing floating from the boat," he said. "He should have been wearing a life jacket."
Molyneux said the other two men in the water appeared to be unharmed, but one of them was in a complete state of shock.
"Anything I said, it didn't compute with him," he said.
Molyneux helped all three climb onto his boat, and took them back to shore. He noted that before he took them back, one of the men asked him to keep an eye out for some of his possessions that he kept on the boat, including a large toolbox and various other items. The man also asked him to search for his puppy, which was on board at the time of the accident. The puppy was not found and neither were the rest of the items on board.
"They must have left from the boat launch, noticed they were taking on water, and then tried to make it back," Molyneux said.
The initial cause of the accident is still unknown, but Molyneux said an improperly secured plug, or unrepaired damage to the boat are likely possibilities.
"If (the plug) wasn't secured tight enough, it could have popped out easily," he said.
Molyneux ‘s daughters handled the situation admirably, he added, but were ultimately hit with a little shock and confusion.
Woodlawn Regional Park distributes boating guidelines and safety precautions to all boaters in the park, and Molyneux encourages anyone using a boat on the water to follow those instructions.
According to the Estevan Fire Rescue Service, as of Monday, the boat has not been recovered.
Woodlawn board member Greg Hoffart said Woodlawn is very appreciative of everyone involved with the rescue and of the continued assistance from local and regional emergency services.
