Eight kayakers were rescued Saturday from heavy chop near the Sand Bar.

Saturday morning August 17, at 11:30 AM, the Colchester Police Marine Unit heard a distress call on marine channel 16 regarding 8 kayakers needing assistance in the Outer Malletts Bay near the mouth of the Lamoille River. The report additionally included that one person was in the water. At the time of this incident there was a strong south wind and 2–3-foot waves in the Outer Malletts Bay.

Colchester Technical Rescue, Colchester Rescue Squad, Colchester Fire Department, and a United States Coast Guard (USCG) vessel from Station Burlington were dispatched. 

USCG and Colchester Police’s Marine Unit arrived shortly after the call and located the kayakers south of the Route 2 Sand Bar. USCG transferred all eight kayakers into their vessel, including the person in the water, and transported them to the Malletts Bay public boat launch where members of Colchester Rescue evaluated them. All reported no injuries.

The Colchester Police Marine Unit would like to remind boaters to be mindful of the constantly changing weather conditions depending on where you are on the lake. You may start out in a calm cove, but once the wind and waves catch your vessel, navigating to your original destination may be difficult or impossible.

It’s better to be safe by turning back and trying another day than to risk damage to your vessel or injuries to you and your passengers. Check your equipment to make sure everything is in working order and tell someone of your planned route on the water, as well as your expected return to land.

For more information contact Corporal Stephen Gutierrez at the Colchester Police Department at 802-264-5555.

Multiple injuries in boat crash – Six visitors to Vermont were injured in a boat crash on Lake Memphremagog at about 10 PM Saturday, August 17.

Brian McLaughlin, 57, Alexander McLaughlin, 22, and Sean McLaughlin, 21 of Lowell, a juvenile from Lowell, Natalie Jackson, 27, of NH, and Joseph Gershman, 28, of Washington, NH were injured when the 1993 Mariah BT operated by the elder McLaughlin struck boulders between Black Island and Bell Island.

State police say the boat and passengers were traveling south between the two Islands when they struck several large boulders and trees which are located between the islands. Several passengers were ejected from the boat and the elder McLaughlin was severely injured with life-threatening injuries. The vessel’s hull was severely compromised due to the crash, but the vessel did not sink. 

A boat operated by good Samaritans heard the crash and responded to the crash scene prior to law enforcement. These good Samaritans recovered all parties from the crashed boat and transported them to Eagle Point, Derby, where emergency personnel was waiting. They were taken to North Country Hospital in Newport. 

Anyone who may have witnessed the crash is asked to call state police at 802 334 8881.

Underwater recovery team brought to reservoir – Despite a weekend of vigorous searching by several agencies, a Bennington man whose car was found near the Sherman Reservoir in Whitingham remains missing.

Search efforts continued this weekend for Matthew Housekeeper, 59. As of Sunday night, he had not been located, state police said. 

Teams that participated in Saturday’s search included the Vermont State Police Search and Rescue Team and the Underwater Recovery Team; the Vermont Department of Fish & Wildlife; New England K9 Search and Rescue; and Rescue Inc.

VSP continues to ask that anyone with information about Housekeeper’s whereabouts contact the Westminster Barracks at 802-722-4600. 

Housekeeper has not been seen or heard from since Wednesday morning, Aug. 14. The Bennington Police Department initiated an investigation Thursday, Aug. 15, after he failed to show up at work and was reported missing. At about 11:30 a.m. Friday, Aug. 16, Housekeeper’s vehicle, a white 2023 Subaru Crosstrek, was located abandoned in the vicinity of 2445 Tunnel. St. in Whitingham, near the Sherman Reservoir.