Last Sunday, a boater reported an upside-down kayak floating in Long Island Sound, just off Compo Beach.
The Westport Police Department Marine Unit raced into action. So did boats from neighboring jurisdictions.
Westport Police radioed information about the incident to private boaters on the water. They shared a photo of the kayak.
Westport Police Marine Unit, with the kayak.
The incident ended fortuitously. Emmah Tait — a Staples High School graduate, and rising sophomore at Colorado State University — had already spotted a man, without a life preserver, clinging to his kayak.
She picked him up and brought him to Ned Dimes Marina, where he had parked his car. Perhaps because of exhaustion, he did not notify police — or anyone else — that his kayak was still in the Sound.
Emmah’s father Chris — a Westport Representative Town Meeting member — learned that she had rescued the kayaker, when he texted her about the missing person. He promptly alerted authorities. (Click here to read the full story.)
Sunday could have been a disaster.
It was not, thanks to this week’s Unsung Heroes: the Westport Police Marine Unit, their colleagues from nearby towns, the private boaters who helped — and of course Emmah and Chris Tait.
(“06880” is proud to honor Unsung Heroes — and tell many other tales of town too. Please click here to support your hyper-local blog.)
Westport Police Marine Unit, scouring the Sound. (Photo/Jim Hood)