Man Overboard Mayday Rescue Complicated By 'Psychiatric Emergency'

RYE, NY — Police say some tense moments on the water started wtih a mental health crisis, but ended with everyone involved safely on land.

On Tuesday, just after 3 p.m., the City of Rye Police Marine Unit responded to a mayday call on the Long Island Sound, approximately 2 miles south of Milton Harbor. A good Samaritan had notified the United States Coast Guard via radio that a man in the water had fallen overboard from an anchored vessel. The man remained in the water and refused assistance from the fellow boater.

Rye police rushed to the scene and located the 33-year-old in the water who was suffering from a psychiatric emergency. The man was helped out of the water and onto the Rye Police Department Patrol Vessel. He was taken back to Milton Harbor and was then transported by EMS to a hospital for evaluation and treatment.

The Rye Police Department was assisted on scene by the New Rochelle Police Harbor Patrol, the Village of Mamaroneck Police Marine Unit and the Hempstead Bay Constables.