Man, 75, Rescued from Floodwaters

Game Warden Shaun Bayless along with the Fayetteville Volunteer Fire Department rescued a man who capsized a boat on Cummins Creek Wednesday.

Bayless said he received a call around 1:50 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 24, reporting a 75-year-old man clinging to a tree in the floodwaters of Cummins Creek near Fayetteville. Bayless said he was unsure of the man’s exact age, but he was an older man.

“He lives in a house by the creek,” Bayless said. “When we got there, you could see the boat 100 yards out in the creek. The bow of the boat sticking out of the water and it was stuck on a tree. He was hanging on to a small tree about 40 yards away.”

The Fayetteville Volunteer Fire Department also responded. Bayless loaded some rescue equipment into his river boat and set out with two of the firemen.

“We got close enough to get a throw line to him and pull him back to the boat,” Bayless said. “The fireman on the front grabbed him and secured him. I maneuvered the boat through the brush back to the EMS and everybody at the shore.”

Bayless said recent heavy rains turned Cummins Creek into a torrent of water. He said the creek is normally about 50 yards wide in that area. On Wednesday, the creek had flooded well over its bank and was more than 100 yards wide.

Bayless said the first responders asked the man why he was on a boat in such dangerous conditions.

“They told me he went out on the creek to just look at the water,” Bayless said.

Bayless said it is extremely dangerous to operate a boat on flooded waterways.

“Unless you are a rescue person with the right equipment, it’s absolutely the worst idea ever,” Bayless said. “Don’t do it. Don’t do it for cows or property or nothing. It’s not worth it. Don’t put yourself or anyone else in danger. That water was almost unsurvivable. Luckily the fire department was good and trained and we were all able to get this guy out of the water.”