Fishing guides called ‘heroes’ for saving NC men thrown from boat at dam, officials say
A popular fishing spot in Tennessee proved to be dangerous for two North Carolina fishermen.
The two men, James Rich, 72, and Ronald Green, 57, were fishing under Fort Loudoun Dam in Tennessee on Monday when water spilling from the dam caused their boat to capsize, throwing them into the turbulent water, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency said.
They were wearing life jackets when it happened, but the choppy water caused one of the men to lose theirs , the agency said.
Luckily, two nearby fishing guides saw what happened and came to their rescue, pulling the two men from the water, the agency said.
Rich was taken to Fort Loudoun Medical Center, where he was treated and released, and Greene was taken to University of Tennessee Medical Center in critical condition, the agency said.
Greene’s daughter, Sabrina Greene-Rusk, told WATE on Tuesday that her dad has improved and is no longer in critical condition.
She said the guides who rescued her father, Bucky Motz and Steve Duncan, are “heroes” to her, the news outlet reported.
But the guides say they were just doing what they’re supposed to.
“Blessed, but not really heroes,” they said, according to WATE.
And this isn’t the first time Motz and Duncan have rescued fishermen from a similar incident at the same spot.
Last summer, a 23-year-old drowned and two others from North Carolina were hurt after a spill gate pulled their boat under water, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency said, and the guides rescued the victims in this incident, too.
“TWRA is grateful to Captain Motz and Captain Duncan for their heroic acts,” the agency wrote on Facebook. “Because of their bravery and boating skills, several lives have been saved in these treacherous waters.”
Incidents similar to these two are more common as the area under the dam is becoming a more popular fishing destination, the agency said.
“Since this tailwater is becoming a more popular destination for quality fishing, I’m seeing more risk taking than ever,” Loudon County Wildlife Officer Anthony Chitwood said in the Facebook post. “I have seen as many as fifteen boats run up in the whitewater at one time.”
Chitwood has started “issuing citations for reckless operation” to people fishing “above the whitewater created by spill gates,” the agency said.
Fort Loudoun is a 122-foot hydroelectric dam on the Tennessee River in Lenoir City, Tennessee, according to the Tennessee Valley Authority.
Lenoir City is near the North Carolina state line and about 143 miles from Asheville.
