The Lake County, Illinois, Sheriff’s office Marine Unit rescued three swimmers they said otherwise could have drowned in a lake near Lake Villa this weekend.

Around 2:50 p.m. Saturday, sheriff’s deputies were on patrol in Petite Lake in unincorporated Lake Villa with personal watercraft provided through the Sea-Doo public safety loan program.

The operator of a rental boat with several people celebrating a bachelor party onboard flagged down the deputies, said he was inexperienced in operating boats, and was looking for three friends who had gone missing in the water, the sheriff’s office said.

A search commenced, and the three were found about 100 yards from the rental boat, the sheriff’s office said. They were showing signs of distress and trying to stay afloat.

Deputies got to all the people in the water before any of them slipped beneath the surface, and got them all to grab onto a rescue bar on the Sea-Doo personal watercraft the deputies were using. All were rescued and got back on the rental boat, the sheriff’s office said.

The boat operator was not under the influence, but alcohol was a factor in why the three people ended up off the boat, the sheriff’s office said.  

“We have worked hard over the years to build and strengthen our Marine Unit, and this is exactly why.  Three young adults who had been drinking and were not wearing life jackets could have lost their lives,” Lake County Sheriff John D. Idleburg said in a news release. “Because our Marine Unit was on the water and ready to respond, and thanks to our valued partnership with Nielsen Enterprises, which provides the personal watercraft our deputies use, they were rescued before tragedy struck.”