Missouri Couple Rescued After Being Stranded on River

FIRST PERSON | Being out in the middle of a body of water can make for a fun outing, or it can turn into an emergency. This was the case for a Missouri couple when they became stranded in the Mississippi River Wednesday after their boat died, leaving them floating on the water in the heat and sun.

The couple, James and Lauren Stork, of Hannibal, Mo., are expecting their first child at any time; they are thankful the baby didn't decide to make an appearance while they were in the middle of the river. A news report from the Hannibal Courier-Post stated that the couple was going across the river to a beach where they planned to spend a couple of hours together with their dog when the motor died. They were unable to get the boat started again, and the current of the water began to carry them down the river. Their emergency motor was no help, as the water was moving too fast.

The Storks attempted to signal a passing pleasure boat with emergency whistles they keep on board for such purposes but the boat went past. Eventually they were able to place an emergency call and were rescued by the firefighters in the Hannibal Fire Department's rescue boat.

Having been through a similar experience of being stranded for several hours by a stalled boat on Rend Lake in southern Illinois, I can understand the seriousness of this situation. With Lauren Stork being heavily pregnant and within a few days of her due date, the option of James Stork swimming to shore to find help would not be a safe choice.

The couple stated in the Courier-Post report they had plenty of fluids to stay hydrated during the incident and other necessary supplies, like life jackets and emergency whistles, but they did not have paddles on board. The paddles would have allowed them to get close to shore.

As I discovered the hard way also, expecting the best while planning for the worst is always the best course of action. In my case, I was with others who were the owners of the boat and I had never been out on a boat before. Items that would have been handy on this particular boat I was stranded on would have been emergency whistles (which the Storks did have); bright signal flags; a GPS to provide your exact position (in my boating incident, no one knew exactly where we were located on the lake, so we would not have been able to tell anyone how to find us if we called for help); and, most importantly, an emergency plan (what to do and who to call in the event of such an emergency).

It is fortunate that this Missouri couple had a happy ending with their river stranding and good that they knew what to do. Hopefully more people will take proper precautions to avoid such accidents before venturing onto the water.