Father and sons rescue capsized canoeists

A family helped to save two men whose canoe capsized Monday afternoon in Deep Quarry Lake in the West Branch Forest Preserve near Bartlett.

A father and his two sons were in a fishing boat on the lake when the older boy noticed two people in the water and the flipped canoe, according to a news release from the Bartlett Fire Protection District.

The father drove the fishing boat to the victims and told them to grab the side of it. Then he drove them toward the shore.

"The quick thinking of the father and his two sons undoubtedly saved these victims' lives," the news release said.

Firefighters and paramedics arrived at the lake about 3:30 p.m., according to the news release, but by then the victims already were on their way to shore.

They both suffered mild hypothermia but refused treatment, the news release said. Hypothermia develops 25 times faster from cold water than from the air, the news release said

Water temperatures throughout Illinois aren't high enough yet for swimming, the news release said.