11?kayakers?rescued?after?bid to cross Lake Ontario fails
NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE, Ont. – Coast Guard crews from the United States and Canada early Sunday rescued 11 kayakers from the waters of Lake Ontario, according to officials on both sides of the border.
The binational rescue effort was requested after the kayakers, who had hoped to paddle across Lake Ontario from Niagara-on-the-Lake to Toronto, reported that they were in distress and two of their members were suffering symptoms of hypothermia.
The Niagara Regional Police Service in Ontario did not identify the young kayakers, beyond saying they came from the Greater Toronto Area and were accompanied by camp counselors.
The group of 11 set out in seven kayaks, accompanied by a support boat, from near Niagara-on-the-Lake at about midnight, according to police and the U.S. Coast Guard.
By 4 a.m., however, members of the group had called emergency officials to report they were in distress and two were suffering from hypothermia, the U.S. Coast Guard reported. Niagara Regional Police also said some of the kayakers had separated from the rest of the group.
A U.S. Coast Guard vessel sent out from the Niagara station rescued four of the kayakers, while a Canadian Coast Guard vessel rescued the other seven kayakers and pulled the seven kayaks from the water. Crews from both countries were dispatched because some of the kayakers were in American waters and some were in Canadian waters.
The 11 kayakers were taken back to Ontario, checked out by emergency crews waiting on shore and released.
Police still seeking help to identify body from river
TOWN OF LEWISTON – Police are renewing their call for assistance to identify the body found July 10 in the lower Niagara River.
The victim is described as a white woman, 40 to 55 years of age, height between 5 feet, 3 inches 5 feet, 5 inches, weighing 156 pounds, with brown and gray hair that had been dyed red.
It is estimated that the body may have been in the water three to five days. The body was removed from the river by the Coast Guard and taken to the Erie County Medical Examiners Office for an autopsy under the direction of Niagara County Coroner Robert Rutland.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the State Parks Police at 278-1777.
Falls man with children in?vehicle?charged?with?DWI
NIAGARA FALLS – A city man faces a felony charge after being stopped for drunken driving early Saturday while his girlfriend’s two young children were inside the vehicle.
Michael A. Murphy, 29, of Main Street, was arrested just after 2 a.m., after being pulled over in the 500 block of 25th Street, police said. He was charged with driving while intoxicated, aggravated DWI, aggravated unlicensed operation, passing a red light and endangering the welfare of a child.
Police said one of the children in the car at the time is 10 years old.
Thieves steal ATV, rifle from shop in Wilson
WILSON – Witnesses told Niagara County sheriff’s deputies they saw three men in a pickup truck stealing an all-terrain vehicle from a Lake Street shop at about 5 a.m. Saturday.
The thieves forced open a door to gain entry to the building, located adjacent to CMC Auto, deputies said. They then went to the rear of the structure and removed a 2003 Polaris ATV and a .22-caliber Smith & Wesson rifle. The stolen items were valued at $1,800.
Rear-end crash injures driver in Cassadaga
CASSADAGA – A Fredonia motorist was taken to the hospital Saturday, after being hit from behind by another vehicle.
Hannah K. Acevedo, 24, was transported to Brooks Memorial Hospital, Dunkirk, by Cassadaga Rescue for neck pain, Chautauqua County sheriff’s officials said. Acevedo was traveling south on Route 60, just before 1 p.m when she stopped to make a left turn into a gas station.
Steven M. Peilmeier, 27, of Jamestown, who was traveling behind Acevedo, did not see her stopped and smashed into the back of her vehicle, officials said.
Peilmeier was not injured and was issued a traffic ticket for following too close. A passenger in Acevedo’s vehicle, Eddie Acevedo, was not injured in the crash.
Cause of blaze that damaged Hartland garage is unclear
HARTLAND – Investigators are still trying to determine the cause of a fire Saturday evening that heavily damaged a garage at 7438 Wheeler Road.
Wrights Corners firefighters responded at 7:31 to find an unattached garage heavily involved in flames. The nearby house sustained siding damage from exposure to the intense heat, sheriff’s deputies said. The resident was not home at the time of the fire and there were no injuries.