By By Stephanie Nelson
special to the standard
Thanks to the quick response of a Brewton man, three people — including a 6-year-old boy — narrowly avoided drowning in Pt. A Lake Saturday, Chief Deputy David Anderson of the Covington County Sheriff’s Office said.
Anderson said a call came in shortly after 10 a.m. of someone in the water calling for help, and when deputies arrived, they found a 6-year-old — pale and vomiting water — and his dad on board a boat headed to the swimming area beach.
How the two — and another would-be rescuer — came to shore is an interesting story.
Scott McDonald of Brewton, his son and step dad were staying for the weekend at the camping area. The group set out shortly after 10 a.m. for a day of fishing and arrived at the lake just in time to see the boy jump out of the boat and into the water.
Eyewitness reports show the father, identified as Michael Keith Ramsey, jumped in the water after his son, Chase. Neither was wearing personal flotation devices, and the elder Ramsey suffered from a fused hip, making it difficult to swim. An unidentified swimmer from the shore tried to rescue the two but quickly became tired because of the distance from the shore.
McDonald said he and his family launched the boat as quickly as possible and saw deputies from the shore pointing to a figure in the water.
McDonald jumped into the water and assisted the three to safety.
The two men were taken by ambulance to Andalusia Regional Hospital. The boy was taken by LifeFlight to Montgomery’s Baptist Hospital and is expected to make a full recovery.
The incident is being investigated by the Alabama Marine Police. It is unknown if the father will receive any citations after the incident for lack of life jackets.
Sheriff Dennis Meeks said it was situations such as this serve as a reminder to obey all boating laws.