Avoiding Getting Lost on Recreational Trips

After two kayakers had to be pulled out of Eldorado Marsh by a helicopter over the weekend, local law enforcement is reminding people to be aware of their surroundings. Captain Bill Tadych tells us having all safety precautions in place – including life jackets and cell phones – is an important step. 

He also says “The first thing is know your limitations. These were two gentlemen – one was 55, the other was 71 – and they weren’t really familiar with the area. They had been in the marsh before, but – they at least had their PFD’s [personal floation devices] with them and they had their cell phones with them, which was a big help. Otherwise you’re talking over six-thousand acres of basically a sea of cattails to find these individuals. So that helped immensely.”

He adds that knowing your surroundings is a key to finding your way out, especially in places like the marsh. He says “it’s a very difficult area to traverse, it’s always changing, but be familiar with your surroundings before you depart – or at least do some research on it is my suggestion.”

Tadych also recommends to “prepare for the elements, even though it seems like a nice warm day –
you’ve got to look ahead and see what the temperatures are going to be if you
would be caught in a situation like this. It all turned out, they’re no worse
for the wear but it was a good learning experience for those individuals and
for us coming together and coming up with a gameplan to get them out of there.”