Stranded Pitt Lake boaters claim other boaters refused to help, demanded cash for tow

Ridge Meadows Search and Rescue (RMSAR) aided a group of stranded boaters who claim a about dozen other boaters refused to help them.

RMSAR said the boaters camped out near Pitt Lake on Thursday night and the next day, found that their boat wouldn’t start.

The boaters told RMSAR they were refused help by about a dozen boaters. They also said one boater began towing them, but then left them stranded after they refused to pay $500.

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“There’s an obligation for boaters on the water who come across somebody else in distress to render aid,” Rick Laing of RMSAR said. “This is a little different because they were on shore but certainly common sense would dictate that, if nothing else, just alert the authorities.”

The stranded boaters managed to send a text message to a friend and RMSAR was notified. They quickly found the boaters, who had finally found someone willing to give them a tow. RMSAR took over the tow and brought the group back to dock.

RMSAR said they had no way of confirming the boaters’ claims.