LAKE WINNEBAGO (WTAQ) – A DNR Ranger reacts to being honored by the Department of Justice for his role in a July 19 water rescue on Lake Winnebago.
“I’m humbled by it. I’m grateful for it, but I’m also humbled. I’m glad that it ended the way it did and that everybody got home safely.”
Ranger Jeff Nieling, along with Warden Tom Sturdivant, was called to the middle of the lake during a thunderstorm.
When their boat started taking on water, they had to temporarily dock at a private pier.
“Once things calmed down a little bit, we went back out. We had new GPS coordinates in by calling them, and we ended up getting them.”
Nieling says the experience gave him a new appreciation for the lake’s strength.
“It was intense. It was very intense. I’ve always heard people talk about their stories out on Lake Winnebago, and I have a newfound respect for the lake. It has very powerful waves.”
Nieling says this summer’s experience wasn’t the first time he and Sturdivant worked together.
“We had a stranded boater that we went out for. We did the same thing, but it wasn’t during a storm.”
Nieling says that he has not spoken with the two people they rescued since that day but notes that they have spoken with Sturdivant.
