Man rescued after boat capsized on Little Manatee River

RUSKIN (FOX 13) - A man was rescued by Hillsborough County deputies after his boat capsized in the Little Manatee River.

Around 2 a.m. Thursday, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call from a nearby resident who was hearing the victim calling for help in the area of 10th Street SW and Woodland Estates Avenue in Ruskin.

Units, along with the agency’s aviation unit, responded and found 46-year-old Robert Sickler laying on top of his capsized john boat.

Deputies say Sickler was too far from shore to throw a rope, and the aviation unit had to lower a small inflatable raft.

Sickler climbed onto the raft and began paddling with his arms back to shore, but the current continued to push him away from the shore. The aviation unit began to rotor wash him, and helped him in the right direction.

Hillsborough County paramedics evaluated him and found he was uninjured, according to officials. Marine units removed the john boat from the river.

Sickler told deputies he was fishing by himself in the river. The tide began to move out to the bay and he began to paddle to shore, but the current became too strong. His boat was pulled into the U.S. Highway 41 bridge pylon and caused it to capsize, according to a media release. He tried to paddle to shore while lying on top of the boat, but grew tired.