Crime & Safety

Kayaker Saves the Day After Dad & Daughter Flip in L.I. Sound

A Shoreham woman fishing in Wading River Creek pedaled as fast as she could Thursday evening after a canoe flipped about a half mile off shore, rescuing a Shirley man and his daughter.

A Shirley man and his 10-year-old daughter were rescued by a Shoreham woman in a kayak Thursday evening after they flipped about a half mile off shore near Wading River Creek.

According to Wading River Fire Department Chief Jim Evans, a call for boaters in distress came in around 6:15 p.m. But before they could make it out to them, Holly Olsen, who took the day off work to go fishing in the creek, had make it out to rescue them.

"They had passed me about 20 minutes before and after that, I heard screaming and whistles," she recalled on Friday morning. "Thank goodness they had those whistles. So I saw that they had flipped over and everybody on the beach was pointing. So I pedaled out as fast as I could, and saw that their canoe was submerged."

Thirty-six-year-old Walter Noriega and his daughter Joselyn were hanging onto the boat, wearing their life jackets when Olsen arrived, she said.

"Once I got to them, I told them to make sure they stay calm, and not to flip me over in the process," she said. The girl hopped onto Olsen's lap, and Walter clung to the side of the kayak while the three of them waited for help. All three were evaluated on scene and nobody was sent to the hospital.

Evans said the fire department plans on giving Olsen a proclamation for making the rescue, though she said she was just satisfied to be able to lend a helping hand.

"It felt pretty good to be able to help them," she said.


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