'It's just instinct': Fishermen save family on Lake Michigan

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) — Two fishermen are being hailed as heroes after rescuing three people on Lake Michigan.

For friends and fishermen Mitchell Orlowski and Kurt Kimpton, it was a quiet Labor Day on the water as they took their small boat out on Lake Michigan for the second day in a row, looking to get some bites until about an hour in.

The pair tell CBS 58 they spotted a boat they could tell was going under, so they sped over to it. They said three people were in the water trying to stay afloat. A woman was holding onto the tip of the boat while her son held her up, while also holding a dog.

The two fishermen, who are from the Wisconsin Dells area, hoisted the three people and their dog into their small fishing boat to save them.

Once safe, Orlowski started performing CPR on the woman he says was purple when she was pulled from the water. The woman coughed up some water and came back to consciousness not long after he started chest compressions.

The trio was taken to the hospital as a precaution, but are all doing fine, along with their dog, according to the Milwaukee Fire Department (MFD).

MFD said without the help of these two fishermen, the outcome of this incident could have been much different, calling them "the real heroes" in this case.

Despite the praise, the two men say they do not consider themselves heroes, as they just happened to be in the right place at the right time.

"It's just instinct, you got to over there. You got to help someone. If you were in the same position, we'd hope someone would stop for us, so there was no question about it, we were helping them," Orlowski said.

The two men were escorted by authorities as they brought the family back to McKinley Marina on their boat.

They tell CBS 58 the family on the boat hit a huge wave while on the lake, which left them nose up.

The three people involved in this water rescue were not wearing life jackets but were holding them in their hands. MFD says life jackets are crucial to helping save lives and continue to stress their importance when out on the water.