A man trying to swim across the Detroit River from Windsor to Detroit had to be rescued Monday night.
The man was rescued by a mailboat crew from J.W. Westcott Co.
Speaking on AM800's The Morning Drive, crew member James "JC" Sharp says he and Captain Neil Schultheiss were getting ready for a mail run and were able to get up river quickly to help the man.
He says he spotted the man and the two were able to lift him onto the deck of the mailboat.
Sharp says they located the man within 10 minutes.
"I had Captain Neil steering the ship and I was just on the front of the boat keeping both eyes open and thank goodness I was able to spot him," says Sharp.
He says when they spotted him in the river, they asked if he was ok and noticed he was in need of assistance.
"Captain Neil and I bent over the side of the vessel, we were able to lift him up, we got his name," he says. "He seemed kind of incoherent and he was kind of having scatter brain so we just assured him that he was safe now, he's in good hands and luckily the Detroit fire boat pulled up right behind us and we were able to transfer him to the fire department who was able to get him to an EMT or an ambulance service."
Sharp says the rescue definitely had his adrenaline going.
"My number one concern was trying to help the gentleman out of the water, get him onto our boat, somewhere safe, just let him know he's going to be ok," says Sharp.
According to J.W. Westcott Co, the man was spotted around 11 p.m. and was inside a life ring that had been thrown to him by someone on shore in Windsor.
The search for the man began near the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Centennial Park Development.
The mailboat crew says the man claimed he was an American citizen from Florida trying to get back into the U.S.
The crew says the man was cold but did not have any physical injuries.