Man Rescued By Police After 'Passing Out On Raft With Bottle Of Rum In His Lap'

A man had to be rescued after he passed out drunk on a raft and floated down a river towards a dam.

Fifty-four-year-old Morris Ferguson, from Indiana, was spotted after he travelled seven miles down the Blue River in Crawford County on a flimsy-looking raft last Sunday.

Officers from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources say when they found Ferguson he was 'passed out with a bottle of rum in his lap', according to WBIW.

Indiana Law Enforcement

Following multiple calls about the man, Conservation Officers Neal Brewington and Jim Schreck headed out to the scene where they attempted, unsuccessfully, to wake the man by shouting and blowing a whistle from the river bank.

Meanwhile, two additional officers set off in a boat to try and catch up to the raft while Brewington and Schreck set up a tag line across the river. Even a swimmer got involved to try and reach the raft to save Ferguson before he reached the Milltown Dam.

Fortunately for Ferguson, a Crawford County Deputy spotted him washed ashore a couple of miles from the dam and was able to reach him and ensure he was OK.

Ferguson was given the once-over by a medical examiner before he was arrested on charges of public intoxication.

With many parts of the world currently in lockdown or quarantine, this isn't the first case we've seen of a misuse of rescue services.

Last month, a man was rescued by police helicopter in the Pyrenees mountain range after he attempted to walk from France to Spain, despite strict lockdown measures being in place at the time.

In a statement, the French Pyrenees High Mountain Police said: "Looks like the [lockdown] message didn't get through properly.

"We took part in a rescue with a helicopter from Perpignan in order to go get an exhausted, very cold and lost individual off the heights above Le Perthus.

PGHM des Pyrénées-Orientales

"This young man, left Perpignan by car, was sent back by the control stations between France and Spain when he wanted to go to Le Jonquera.

"He then decided to take a hiking path, hoping to cross the border through the mountain.

"He fell into a creek, got out again, got lost and then ended up contacting mountain rescue with an SOS using his phone."

Topics: US News, Weird

Claire Reid

Claire is a journalist at LADbible who, after dossing around for a few years, went to Liverpool John Moores University. She graduated with a degree in Journalism and a whole load of debt. When not writing words in exchange for money she is usually at home watching serial killer documentaries surrounded by cats. You can contact Claire at [email protected]

@ClaireReid19