CHILO, Ohio — Fire and EMS crews from three Clermont County departments responded to the Ohio River near Chilo on Saturday morning after the U.S. Coast Guard reported a boat partially submerged along the riverbank, according to Washington Township Fire and EMS.
Units from Washington Township, Franklin Township Fire and EMS, and Bethel-Tate Fire Department were dispatched to Ohio River Mile Marker 435, above the Captain Anthony Meldahl Locks and Dam, the department said in a Facebook post. Crews staged at the Chilo Park boat launch and at the lock and dam to reach the vessel.
Medic 66 made contact with the vessel and found it abandoned, with no one aboard, the department said. Crews launched Boat 14 to inspect the partially submerged boat from the water, then relayed their findings back to the Coast Guard before clearing the scene.
No injuries were reported.
The stretch of river sits near Chilo Lock 34 Park, a Clermont County Park District site that preserves the operations building of the former Ohio River Lock and Dam No. 34, decommissioned in 1964 after the larger Meldahl dam two miles downstream took over regulating river levels. The park’s boat launch and dock are regularly used to access the river for both recreation and emergency response.
The information contained in this story was obtained from Washington Township Fire and EMS.