5-31-22 pontoon boat partially sinks in lake winnebago

It was a busy Memorial Day Holiday weekend for the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office Boat Patrol with three water rescues on Lake Winnebago.  A 42 year old Oshkosh man was arrested for boating while intoxicated  Monday night after his canoe capsized west of Winnebago Drive .  He was picked up by a pontoon boat and brought back to shore, but jumped off about 50 yards from the shoreline.  Sheriff’s deputies jumped into the lake and pulled the man to shore.  Earlier Monday night the Sheriff’s Office Boat Patrol assisted the Calumet County Sheriff’s Office after a sailboat capsized near the east shore of the lake.  The boat was towed back to a private residence on  Camp Shaginappi Road.    Nobody was injured Sunday night after a pontoon boat partially sank on Lake Winnebago and two of the occupants were initially unaccounted for.  Shortly before 8pm Sunday the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office patrol boat responded to the west side of the lake near what is called Fraction Island to find a partially submerged pontoon boat.   Seven of the nine occupants made it safely back to shore with the help of a good samaritan using personal boats and jet skis.  The Sheriff’s Office Boat Patrol located the two missing individuals, safe and unharmed  on a separate island  known as “Long Point.”     Through investigation, it was determined that the pontoon boat had been operated by a 73 year old Van Dyne man and was traveling through a shallow area of water when it bottomed out.  Shortly after, it began taking on water and partially sank. The majority of occupants were able to make it to Fraction Island while the other two, that were believed to have been in the water, made their way safely to Long Point Island.  All of the other involved occupants were either 23 years old or 24 years old.