Black River fishermen rescued

A potentially tragic situation was averted Tuesday afternoon when two fishermen were rescued from Black River after their boat struck a log and capsized.

The incident occurred between 12:30 and 1 p.m. in the area of 790 River Road, off Route JJ.

"I was in my garage working; my neighbor [B.J. Barrows] heard them hollering," said Tom Armes Sr. "… She went out and checked on them and seen them in the middle of the river."

Barrows then contacted Armes.

Armes said he went out and saw two men "on a brush pile. They were in a very bad situation. The boat was totally submerged."

"They were kind of standing on it," while hanging on to the brush pile, he said.

Armes said he hooked up his boat, and "my son just happened in at that time, thank God."

Armes described the river as being "real swift" and higher than normal, as it is probably 12 to 14 feet deep as opposed to the usual 2 to 3 feet.

"We put [the boat] in the river and just picked them off the log," Armes said. "[Tom Armes Jr.] was in the front of the boat. I eased the boat up there and he got them off.

" … If I had been by myself, I don't know what I would have done. They were really shaking and weak at the time."

Armes said the men, who he identified as Dallas Rich of Williamsville, Mo., and a fishing partner from Colorado, had been in the water between 30 and 45 minutes.

"We brought them back to my house," where the men were wrapped in blankets, Armes said. "We got them dried off; my son got them some dry clothes."

Later, Armes said, they took the men back to their car, which was parked at the Hendrickson boat ramp, about a mile and a half down river from where they capsized.

The men, Armes said, told them they had planned to fish and had shut the boat's motor off in a swift area.

"They couldn't get it back started; it floated up against a log, and it turned them over," Armes explained.

The boat, as well as the men, became submerged under the water, Armes said.

"They crawled up on the bottom of the boat," Armes said. "They floated down on that until they hit the brush pile. It's good neither left the boat and tried to swim to shore …

"If they had not been experienced, it would have been a tragedy. … I don't know how much longer they could have lasted" in the water.

The men, Armes said, returned Tuesday night to thank everyone for their help.

Pertinent address:

790 River Road, Poplar Bluff, Mo.