Bodycam captures rescue of father-son duo clinging to cooler in Boston Harbor
Officers assigned to the Boston Police Harbor Unit responded about 6:35 p.m. Wednesday to a call for a boat taking on water and sinking off the coast of Graves Light.
Police rescue father, son clinging to cooler after boat sank in Boston Harbor
Officers rescued a father and son from the water after their boat sank near Boston, Massachusetts, on Wednesday, Aug.24, 2021, according to the Boston Police Department.
BOSTON – A father and son lobster fishing in the Boston Harbor were found by police clinging onto a cooler to stay afloat after their boat sank, leaving the duo stranded.
Officers assigned to the Boston Police Harbor Unit responded about 6:35 p.m. Wednesday to a call for a boat taking on water and sinking off the coast of Graves Light. At the time of the call, the officers were on patrol in the harbor and were about eight minutes away.
As officers approached the scene, they observed a vessel about 100 yards off the coast and could only see a small portion of the boat named Glory Days bow above water.
(Boston Police Department)
As rescuers got closer, they saw a blue object floating in the water. Moments later, they located two men holding on to a blue cooler.
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"You could see the fear in their face," Merrick told the Associated Press. "They were cold. They looked very tired and weak."
The stranded fishermen told police that were having difficulty keeping their heads above water.
"Help him up please," the younger man, who was holding onto a life ring, pleaded to offers as they reached to pull his 76-year-old dad onboard. "Help him up first."
The dramatic rescue was captures on police body camera video. While both men were physically exhausted, they only suffered minor injuries.
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Officers Stephen Merrick and Garrett Boyle with the Boston Police Harbor Unit responded to a call for a boat taking on water at about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday near Graves Light Station.
(Boston Police Department)
The men told police that their boat’s engine got tangled in lobster lines and the current then pushed them onto rocks and punctured the hull. The boat began to take on water, eventually sinking and causing them to abandon ship.
Both victims were treated by officers and transported them to shore where paramedics were waiting. Their boat's wreckage was eventually found and towed to a nearby dock.