Sometimes the best duck hunting conditions tempt hunters into unsafe situations. This appears to have happened recently on the Nanticoke River in Maryland where six duck hunters were rescued by Natural Resources Police and Wildlife and Heritage Service staff after their boat became inoperable in the frozen waters.
Video footage from a responding helicopter shows the highlights of the rescue, which took place on the evening of January 31 — the last day of Maryland’s duck season. The hunters appear to have a layout boat strapped to their larger tender boat. Based on the timing of the rescue it would make sense that they were returning to the boat ramp after their hunt.
According to a Department of Natural Resources release, first responders were dispatched around 6:30 p.m. that Saturday evening, however local fire rescue crews were unable to reach the hunters due to thick ice and frozen ramps. Temperatures were in the high teens to low 20s, with northerly winds gusting over 20 miles per hour.
It’s likely that the hunters made it out for their hunt but then found the river to be iced over after the shoot. Or, they simply had motor trouble.
A helicopter team piloted by Sgt. John Buchanan and Ofc. Christian Helwig had just completed an escort of another vessel nearby when they were called to assist with the Nanticoke rescue. The rescuers decided that hoisting the hunters from the boat with a Maryand police helicopter would have been too risky in the windy conditions.
Instead they opted to launch an airboat from a nearby campground. Video shows the airboat gliding across the frozen river toward the hunters. Based on the coordinates shown in the video, and the location of the Sandy Hill campground to the east, it appears that the rescuers had a relatively short run out to the hunters.
The Nanticoke River is a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay and is approximately a half-mile wide at the point of the rescue. This is an iconic region for hunting sea ducks and divers, where a certain amount of danger is inherent in the pursuit, especially in gnarly late-season conditions.
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The airboat crew retrieved all six hunters in two separate trips. The DNR release says the hunters were evaluated by EMS personnel and returned to their vehicles. It’s unclear what will happen to the hunters’ boat.
It’s also unclear if the hunters killed any ducks during their hunt. Either way, it will be one last-day rip that they’ll always remember — and that they’re lucky to have survived.