COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa park ranger is being credited for saving two Council Bluffs men whose boat on Lake Manawa filled with water because of high winds.
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says in a news release that 72-year-old William Buchholz and 54-year-old James Tanga were fishing on the western Iowa lake around 10 p.m. Monday when winds kicked up. The men were about 100 yards from a boat ramp when the boat became swamped.
Lake Manawa State Park Ranger Aaron Johnson, who had been monitoring the boat because of the weather, went to the men’s rescue. Johnson and Council Bluffs firefighters were able to pull the men, who were treading water, to safety.
Authorities say there were life jackets on board the boat, but the men were not wearing them.
