Wife rescued, husband still missing after canoe capsizes in Colorado

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. -- A canoe with a couple on board capsized on Wellington Lake on Wednesday morning, reports CBS Denver.

The husband and wife were canoeing on the lake Wednesday morning. Someone at the lake ran into the office at the lake looking for help and said that a canoe had capsized.

Two employees at the private lake, Jim Turner and David Meedham, got into another canoe and rescued a woman who had been in the water for about 30 minutes. She was not wearing a life jacket and had been yelling for help while in the water.

“She was waving her arms, calling for help. We had another fisherman on the shore, yelling at us, telling us that they needed help,” said Wellington Lake Ranger Randi Clark.

The woman told authorities that her husband had been yelling for help but then went under water.

“We only thought there was one person in the water at the time and when we found out there was another person we all jumped into action and started patrolling the shores,” said Wellington Lake Manager Jeanne Sander.

CBS Denver flew over the lake after dive crews from West Metro Fire Rescue rushed to help search for the man in the water. The couple’s green canoe was seen on the shore.

The woman was airlifted to St. Anthony Hospital with hypothermia. Her condition was not immediately available on Wednesday afternoon.

The couple had been camping at the lake. The woman is 73 years old. Her husband is 66 years old. He remained missing after noon on Wednesday.

The couple had life vests with them but were not wearing them.

When asked what went through her mind when she saw the couple had life preservers but weren’t using them, Clark responded, “That is the hardest thing because it could have been prevented.”

Authorities are investigating whether the wind played a role in capsizing the canoe.

Wellington Lake is located in Jefferson County, Colorado. It’s about 150 acres in size, about one mile long and 40 feet deep in some spots.