WELLFLEET, MASS. (WHDH) – A getaway to Lieutenant Island off Wellfleet came to an unnerving end when a Randolph family of three and their dog found themselves stranded on the only road to the mainland and trapped by a rising tide.
“They tried to get off the island before the tide was done,” Joseph Cappello, Wellfleet fire chief said. “And they drove right through the water and the water was a little too high. And it cut the engine out and the car stalled.”
The family used their cellphone to call for help and Wellfleet fire rescue told them to stay put, and that the department’s high water vehicle was on it’s way.
“This time of the year you can see there are ice chunks in the water and whatnot so it’s very cold,” Cappello said. “So we get concerned with hypothermia , people getting out of the water. Luckily they stayed inside their vehicle.”
The family did not want to talk about how they found themselves stranded in the rising waters.
The locals say they’ve seen it before.
“I think anybody around here knows exactly when the tides are but if you don’t live out there. Who knows,” Lon Morris said, a Truro resident.
“It’s not the first time. Won’t be the last, for sure,” Cappello said. We have about five or six a year, the people who make this accident happen [usually aren’t from here].”
Police say no charges will be filed in the case. They said it’s just one of those things that happens to out of towners every once in a while.
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