Lake Jump Survivor Called Lucky Man Spent 40 Minutes Exposed To 58-Degree Water
A 33-year-old man who jumped from a cruise boat into frigid Lake Coeur d’Alene Friday night is lucky to be alive, authorities said.
David Lee Morse of Coeur d’Alene spent 40 minutes swimming and treading water in the dark 58-degree lake before being fished out by a fire district marine boat about 10:30 p.m.
Cruise boat workers were able to immediately retrieve a “copycat jumper” who leapt in minutes after Morse, said Kootenai County Sheriff’s Sgt. Dan Soumas.
Authorities said Morse was wearing jeans, socks and a T-shirt and was drunk. They were told he had downed three mixed drinks, plus 4 ounces of liquor and two beers before leaping from the top deck of the Mish-A-Nock.
Authorities believe Morse jumped following an argument with his wife or because he wanted to try and swim to shore like a friend had in Mexico.
“We know he didn’t fall because he left his tennis shoes and a jacket behind on the deck,” said Soumas.
Mish-A-Nock crew members called sheriff’s deputies about 9:30 p.m. when a fight erupted aboard the boat, which had been chartered by a softball club. Minutes later Morse, who was not involved in the fight, jumped.
By the time the busy crew members found out, the boat was a few hundred yards away, Soumas said. They threw a rescue ring in the water and stopped the boat.
Morse was found 40 minutes later by Kootenai County Fire District marine boat officials when they saw his head bobbing in the water a half-mile south of Silver Beach. He was taken to Kootenai Medical Center where he was treated and released for mild hypothermia.
Morse declined to comment. “I have to go. Have a nice day,” he said, when contacted at home Saturday by a reporter.
“I’m convinced in my mind that he wouldn’t have made it to shore,” Soumas said. “The water is cold, he was slowing down. His body temperature had dropped to the mid-to low 90s and the alcohol was already slowing his system down.”
The incident reminded police of May 1994, when 24-year-old Dennie Schuttemeier drowned near the docks at Independence Point. Schuttemeier had just finished a lake cruise, had been drinking and dove into the water fully clothed.
Friday’s incident also marked the end of a rough week for the Mish-ANock. Thursday, the 99-ton cruise boat bashed into a brand new sheriff’s department jet boat. No one was injured, but the jet boat suffered about $10,000 damage.
“We’ve been through a lot this week,” said Fred Finney, manager of Coeur d’Alene Cruises. “It seems like more happened this week than in all the time we’ve been operating.”
, DataTimes