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RCMP charge boaters after rescue on remote Alberta lake

Mounties say the man and woman went floating in a small rubber boat on Abraham Lake Sunday wearing shorts, t-shirts and sandals.

Police say neither was wearing a life preserver and they didn’t have a rope or bailer bucket on board.

The wind blew them to the middle of the lake and large white-caps moved them further from shore.

An Alberta wildlife officer and two firefighters managed to find the pair huddled underneath their boat on the shore suffering from exposure.

RCMP say alcohol was factor and the pair have been charged with failing to have life jackets.

“A 33-year-old man from Smokey Lake, Alta., and a 22-year-old female from Willingdon, Alta., were found to be in a near hypothermic state and were quickly shuttled to EMS for medical attention,” Staff-Sgt. Mark Groves said Monday in a release.

Additional charges were pending.

Police say it was the fifth search and rescue mission in the last few weeks in the Abraham Lake area.

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