UPPER AUGUSTA TOWNSHIP - A Snyder County boating enthusiast is alive today thanks to the efforts of river rescue emergency crews from Sunbury and Upper Augusta Township who reached him near a small island in the Susquehanna River near Sunbury Generation LLC on the Snyder County side of the river.
Officials said Jonathon Janus, no age given, of 329 Kreamer St., Middleburg, was "none the worst for his harrowing experience but was a little embarassed by the incident" early Wednesday evening.
It was unclear whether Janus was thrown from the boat as it drifted the approximately two miles in heavy current downstream from the Adam T. Bower Memorial Dam (formerly known as the Fabridam), after his boat became disabled, but one firefighter who reached the man said he was hanging onto the side of the small craft with one hand and holding onto a limb with the other.
According to one report at the scene, Janus had purchased the boat several days ago and had taken it out on the river on a test run when a mooring rope became entangled in the motor. Without power, the boat drifted over the dam and continued downstream until it stopped in brush close to the small island.
"He was wearing a life preserver and that helped save his life," a firefighter said after Janus was brought ashore at Shady Nook three miles south of Sunbury. "We had a problem finding him until one of the crew heard him calling for help."
Crew members reached Janus from the generating plant entrance. Emergency equipment was staged at a boat launching area on the Northumberland County side.
Janus did not require medical attention, according to a firefighter from Upper Augusta Township.
It was the second of two incidents at the dam involving river rescue crews. Firefighters said there was "nothing to the first emergency call."
