Two saved after air mattress floats into Lake Michigan

Tuesday evening at about 5:58 PM the Ozaukee County Sheriff's Department received numerous 911 calls of children in distress out on Lake Michigan a few hundred yards off shore from Port Washington.

When rescue crews arrived they found that two adults had been on an air mattress and had drifted out further than they intended due to wind direction and speed. The adults weren't wearing life jackets.

No children were ever in the water with the mattress.

No injuries were reported and the adults were assisted back to Port Washington Marina.

The Sheriff's Office wants the incident to be a teaching moment that Lake Michigan will not act like inland lakes, local pools or swimming ponds. Wind and wave conditions can change in speed and intensity with little or no warning over the course of the day and evening.

An air mattress is never an appropriate choice for use on Lake Michigan as a recreational craft.

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