A fisherman died Sunday in upstate New York while trying to retrieve a set of keys that fell into the water.
Anthony Davis, 44, and two other men were fishing on Oneida Lake in Hastings on Sunday morning when his keys went into the water, the Oswego County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release. Hastings is about 25 miles north of Syracuse.
Davis jumped into the water to try to find the keys but could not make it back to land. One of the other fishermen, Wattie Cappers, tried to save Davis but was also unable to return to the shore.
The men were discovered in distress around the pier near The Waterfront Tavern by members of the Oswego County Sheriff’s Office Marine Patrol.
First responders from several local police and firefighters arrived and tried to rescue them.
Rescuers took Cappers, 42, to Upstate University Hospital., where he was in stable condition.
A diver pulled Davis from the water. He was taken to the same hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Investigators later learned the three men were fishing to celebrate Father’s Day.
Officials did not say how far out the men were or why they were unable to swim back to the shore. Oneida Lake is about 55-feet deep at its deepest point.
