At 8:38 p.m. on Friday, deputies from the Alcona County Sheriff’s Office and the Curtis Township Fire Department were dispatched to the area of Alcona Dam on the Ausable River for two canoers who had tipped over and were stranded on the west bank south of the dam, a Monday press release from the Alcona Sheriff’s Office stated.

Alcona Central Dispatch had received a call from a citizen on an ATV that said they were on the east side of the river near Bobcat Creek when the canoers shouted for help. The caller said that the canoers had tipped over into the water, their canoe had washed down river, and they were now stranded in a dense wooded and swampy area on the west side of the river. This area of the river is only accessible by the river.

Incident Command was set up at the Alcona Dam where the canoers had begun their trip. The canoers were attempting to traverse the wooded area, walking north toward the dam and their exact location was now unknown. An Alcona County Deputy and an MSP-K-9 walked toward the Ausable River from the east and were able to locate the two canoers approximately two and a half hours later by shouting across the river. The Alcona Township Fire Department was able to launch a rubber raft from the Alcona Dam, float downstream, load the subjects from the west bank, and float back across to the east bank where they could be evaluated by Alcona EMS. The subjects were cold and wet, but did not suffer any injuries and were picked up by family members.

This incident was a coordinated effort by the Alcona County Sheriff’s Office, Curtis Township Fire Department, Michigan State Police K-9 from the West Branch and Alpena post, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, the Alcona Township Fire Department, and Alcona County EMS.