NORTH WILDWOOD – A water rescue box was dispatched for a disabled wave runner, at 9:03 p.m. July 18.
According to the North Wildwood Fire Department’s Facebook page, Ladder 2 and the North Wildwood Police Department arrived in the area and initiated a search. Marine 2-1 and Marine 70 (Court House) were deployed in the area to assist with the search. Crews could hear the wave runner operator blowing his whistle, but it took some time to locate his exact position due to poor visibility.
The operator was located in the marsh approximately 1,000 feet from the closest area accessible by boat. Air assets were requested but were unavailable at that time.
Two firefighters from Ladder 2 were sent into the marsh to rescue the victim. Upon reaching the area, they found the victim had sunk to approximately waist/chest depth attempting to free himself from the mud.
The victim was safely removed from the mud and was assisted back to the awaiting boats.
Crews operated on this incident for all most three hours.
