What was supposed to be a leisurely day of fishing on Center Hill Lake almost turned tragic for a man and his son last week, but the quick actions of an off-duty THP lieutenant and his partner helped save the day. The incident is serving as a reminder for boaters and fishermen to wear their lifejackets while on the water.

On Saturday, May 2, Lieutenant Charlie Caplinger and Mike Redmon were participating in a fishing tournament on Center Hill Lake when they came upon an incident. According to Caplinger, the two men started hearing loud talking from a nearby boat. "We stopped at this spot and were fishing, and about 100 yards away there was another boat with two people in it. We could hear them talking, then one gentleman started yelling for help."

Caplinger said the man started panicking and waving his arms. "We picked up our stuff and quickly headed over to where they were at. We found that the man's son had fallen into the water, and had been in there for quite some time."

According to Caplinger, the man, appearing to be in his late 20’s or early 30’s, was hanging onto a tree in the water covered in thorns. The father and Lieutenant Caplinger tried to lift the son back into the boat but were unable to do so. The other party’s boat began taking on large amounts of water and the rear of the boat started to sink. "I got over into the boat and got over to him, but his boat was so small, we couldn't get him back up and into the boat. His lips were turning purple, and he was begging us to help him. He said he couldn't swim and he didn't have a life jacket on. He kept saying, 'Please don't let me die. Don't let me die.'"

Lieutenant Caplinger told the father to go to the front of the boat while Caplinger held onto the son. Meanwhile, Redmon held onto the front of the boat to keep it from going further underwater, and threw Caplinger a life jacket for the son, however, the man was unable to put the jacket on.

"We managed to put our two boats together and get him to shore,"  Lieutenant Caplinger said. "Once we were in shallow water we were able to got him back into his boat. We then helped him get the water out of his boat, because it was about to sink, but eventually we got them back to the Cookeville Boat Dock."

Lieutenant Caplinger said that the water is still cold this time of year and that can quickly impair your ability to move. "The water was about 66 degrees, which doesn't sound too cold, but is cold enough for hyperthermia to start setting in. It's a good reason to wear your lifejacket."

The men said that they offered to call 911 for an ambulance, but the family declined as the son started warming up and soon began to become more coherent. Over the weekend, Lieutenant Caplinger went one step further and checked on the son’s condition twice. The son is expected to be okay.