Coast Guard honors crew of Sugar Island Ferry and Good Samaritans having saved girl from river

SAULT STE MARIE – United States Coast Guard Officers held a ceremony today at the Sugar Island Ferry Dock today to honor the crew of the Sugar Island ferry and the Good Samaritans that worked together on a fateful day on January 21 when they all worked together to rescue a teenage girl in the river after she had fallen through the ice.

On that night, Captain Dale Rosenbum spotted something in the water and called down to deckhand/ crew leader Phil Roy to look to see what it was. Roy saw what was a teenage girl in the river yelling for help. The crew immediately went into action to save the girl, utilizing their man overboard training just as they had rehearsed it many times in practice drills.

“You don’t ever think you are going to use the training and hope you never have to, but it just came automatically and we set everything in motion,” Roy said.

Rosenbum was able to maneuver the ferry close to the girl and Roy, with the help of the passengers, was able to get her aboard the vessel.

“The passengers became part of our crew, and they are all a large part of this rescue,” Roy said. “After she was on board, we were able to get her in a warm vehicle. Dale turned the ferry around and docked at the mainland where an ambulance was waiting.