First responders rescued a Baltic man from the Flandreau dam on the Big Sioux River Sunday, the first successful rescue Police Chief Zach Weber has seen in his career.
Police, the Flandreau Fire Department and the Moody County Sheriff’s Office responded to the call for a boat that had capsized in front of the dam about 1:50 p.m. At the time, they didn’t know if anyone was in the water, Weber said.
A 22-year-old had been in the boat that was launched on the north side of the dam and was holding on to the top of the overturned boat. He was wearing a life jacket when he went into the water, which helped him, Weber said.
“At one point, he was sucked under the water and flipped. It ripped the lifejacket off. He was able to get it back on,” he said.
When the boat went in, it got around the north concrete wall, and the water sucked him in, Weber said.

Two other adults were there with the truck and trailer that had pulled the boat. A local person made the 911 call.
With about 10 firefighters on the scene, they threw the man a rescue disc, which looks like a Frisbee with rope attached. It took at least four firefighters to pull the victim in, Weber said. He was saved on the north side of the dam.
Weber did not release the name of the man who was in the water about 20 minutes.
For now, Weber has closed that area and on Sunday, planned to talk to the Game Fish & Parks this week about permanently closing the launch area.
Water rescue calls are not common, Weber said. “Water rescues we have that are successful are extremely rare,” he said.
The last successful water rescue was for Gary Christensen decades ago.
Sunday’s rescue had a quick response time and the person was able to hold on to the top of his overturned boat, both factors that helped for a positive outcome, he said.
The victim was checked out by Moody County Ambulance personnel and was not injured or in need of further treatment, Weber said.