Kayaker Rescued After Freezing Night In West River: Report

WEST RIVER, MD — Officers with the Maryland Natural Resources Police rescued a boater Wednesday night on the West River after his kayak capsized, the police said. The 44-year-old man is being treated for hypothermia at the Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis, according to a media report.

After falling out of his boat, the unidentified man was stranded in the river for hours, leaving him with a body temperature of 82 degrees, the police said. A normal body temperature is around 98.6 degrees.

The Maryland Natural Resources Police received a call at about 8 p.m. from a boater who came across the stranded man, a Shady Side resident, hanging onto his kayak after he had fallen out, radio station WTOP reported.

He was taken aboard one boat and transferred to another that took him to shore, a police spokeswoman told WTOP. (For more news like this, find your local Patch here. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here.)

The West River is a tidal tributary of the Chesapeake Bay in southern Anne Arundel County. The police caution boaters that with the recent cold weather, water temperatures in the area are dangerously low.

Image: Maryland Natural Resources Police