Positivity: Eau Claire Fisherman Meets Men Who Saved His Life
From mid-June, 2007
One month ago, an Eau Claire man nearly drowned in Lake Altoona. But three fishermen came to his rescue, just in time.
On Saturday, Tyler Fransway had the chance to meet his very own heroes.
For years, the first Saturday in May has traditionally marked the day anglers in Western Wisconsin eagerly await: the fishing opener.
This year was no different for 18-year-old Tyler Fransway.
“I’m a big crappy fisher, and the crappies were spawning, so I figured I’d go out to Lake Altoona,” said Tyler Fransway, a seasoned fisherman
from Eau Claire. “I was out there and it just started to get bad.”Bad enough that the choppy water started pouring onboard, and made Fransway’s boat start sinking.
“I got in and at first was doing alright, then started to get cold,” Fransway said. “I got tense and you almost have to tell yourself to move, stroke, stroke.
Finally, I’d had enough and just started yelling.”Andy Mulheron, Mike Sanders and Jason Nunke were headed back to shore after casting their lines, when Fransway caught their attention.
“We happened to see Tyler out on the middle of the lake, not capsized yet, but on the verge,” said Andy Mulheron, a fisherman who helped rescue Tyler from Lake Altoona.
Mulheron says the group knew what it had to do.
Go here for the rest of the story, with video.
