LAKE PLEASANT — A state Department of Environmental Conservation officer recently rescued a man whose motorboat was capsizing in Hamilton County.

On Monday, Aug. 20, Scott Pierce was patrolling Sacandaga Lake when he approached a small boat near shore with an electric motor and an older man operating it. The man was looking for Moffit Beach Campground, about a mile away on the far side of the lake. Pierce asked the man if he had personal flotation device, and when the man did said he not, Pierce loaned him an extra from the patrol boat.

With the wind increasing, Pierce saw the small boat taking on water and nearly standing on end. As Pierce approached the boat, it capsized completely. The operator was holding on to the side of the boat, but the electric motor was still running and the prop was hitting the man’s legs. A passerby also approached and was able to pull the capsized boat away while the man held onto the side of the patrol boat. The small boat, with the motor still running, began to spin in circles.

Pierce was able to lift the man aboard the patrol boat, and the pair, after several attempts, secured the capsized boat to the side of the DEC vessel. Pierce was able to deliver the man and his boat to the campground, and the only loss was the small boat’s anchor.