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What happens when you back down the boat launch too far? This SUV owner learned the hard way

By Rolf Boone

July 15, 2018 02:21 PM

See the black dot in the water behind the tow truck? That’s an SUV.
See the black dot in the water behind the tow truck? That’s an SUV. Thurston County Sheriff's Office Courtesy
See the black dot in the water behind the tow truck? That’s an SUV. Thurston County Sheriff's Office Courtesy

Don’t back down the boat launch too far, or else you could get stuck in the mud.

That’s what happened at the Carlyon Beach Homeowners Association boat launch Saturday afternoon. After the SUV got stuck, the tide began to rise and submerged the vehicle, said Aaron Hayes, assistant fire chief of Griffin Fire Department.

The SUV had been backed down the launch to retrieve a boat.

“The boat floats,” Hayes said. “The Toyota 4Runner? Not so much.”

The boat owner might have been enticed to back down the launch a little farther than usual because of Saturday’s low tides.

After the SUV got stuck, a second vehicle came along to help and got stuck as well. Then a third vehicle tried to help the second vehicle and got stuck, too, Hayes said.

All but one vehicle eventually freed itself from the mud. Nobody was injured, he said.

The incident was reported about 3:30 p.m. Saturday in the 2700 block of Island Drive Northwest.

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