Fishermen drop anchor, sink

OXBOW, Ore. – Three Idaho fishermen dropped anchor in a Snake River reservoir and nearly got themselves killed.

The anchor caught hold in high, swift water, a sheriff’s deputy said.

The back of the 17-foot jet boat filled in less than a minute, he said, and shortly after that it was pulled under.

The three were in 50-degree water. Although they weren’t wearing flotation devices, they had grabbed one vest and a floating cooler.

They were rescued by three more fishermen in a 12-foot boat about 400 feet away. They motored over, held the three men to the side of the vessel and returned to shore.

Lt. Jerry Weir, marine patrol supervisor for the Adams County Sheriff’s Office, said the three men who got dunked Tuesday were experienced on the water but surprised by the flow in the reservoir behind Oxbow Dam.

“It’s deceptive. It’s not the placid water it is in the summertime,” Weir said. “They wouldn’t have lasted long out there if the other fellows hadn’t seen them.”

He said the water, 70 feet deep, is flowing at 60,000 to 80,000 cubic feet a second. Summer flows are typically 10,000 cubic feet a second, he said.

The three pulled from the water were identified as Thomas Felkel, 56, of Grangeville, Idaho, and Thomas Parker, 65, and Lawrence Wetzel, 69, both of Boise.