County authorities rescue four boaters on Steele Bayou

Published 2:55 pm Saturday, September 5, 2020

Warren County authorities Saturday rescued four people after they reported their boat was taking on water on Steele Bayou.

Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace said 911 dispatchers received a call about 10:59 a.m. from a man who said he, another adult and two children were in a boat on Steele Bayou and it was taking on water.

“He was not clear on his location, but the 911 dispatchers did an outstanding job in pinpointing his location through his cell phone,” Pace said.

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He said the Warren County Emergency Operations Center launched a boat manned by county fire coordinator Jerry Briggs and Reed Birdsong, and the sheriff’s office launched a boat manned by sheriff’s investigator Sam Winchester, Pace and Vicksburg Warren 911 director Shane Garrard. 

The boats launched from the Little Sunflower landing north of Mississippi 465. They found the 16-foot boat beached and still taking on water on the east bank of Steele Bayou about three-quarters of a mile from the landing.

The people and their equipment were transferred to the two rescue boats and taken back to the Little Sunflower landing.

Pace said the boats with the people returned to the landing about 12:45 p.m.

“We had good coordination between emergency agencies,” he said. “We needed two boats to help get the people and their equipment out.”

The people, Pace said, had been fishing all day and did not know what caused the boat to take on water. No one was injured, he said.

About John Surratt

John Surratt is a graduate of Louisiana State University with a degree in general studies. He has worked as an editor, reporter and photographer for newspapers in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. He has been a member of The Vicksburg Post staff since 2011 and covers city government. He and his wife attend St. Paul Catholic Church and he is a member of the Port City Kiwanis Club.

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