A pair of west end fisherman reportedly owe their lives to the fast action of a unit of the Marquette County Sheriff’s Office.

This particular drama unfolded Wednesday evening out on Deer Lake near Ishpeming.

At 8:33 p.m., the Marquette County Sheriff’s Special Operations Unit was dispatched to the site on a report of an overturned canoe. Upon arrival, officers observed four people in the water, 400 feet from shore.

According to the sheriff’s office, two people had entered the water in an attempt to rescue their friends who had overturned their canoe.

The two attempted rescuers were wearing life jackets and made it back to shore safely. The two canoeists were brought aboard the sheriff’s office boat and were transfered to the care of EMS.

All subjects were then brought to Upper Peninsula Health System-Bell in Ishpeming for hypothermia evaluations, according to the sheriff’s office.

This is one of those cases that ended happily. Unfortunately, a number of them do not every year.

We can only underscore advice given by the sheriff’s office, in regards to water safety: “Life jackets should be worn at all times when recreating on the water, and always tell someone where you will be.”