Fire Station 13 crew responds to alert about jet skier
On Friday, April 24, in yet another Siesta Key incident regarding a 911 call indicating the need for a marine rescue, the responding Sarasota County Fire Department personnel found no one in distress, The Sarasota News Leader has learned.
A utility vehicle housed at Fire Station 13 on the barrier island — which stands just south of Siesta Public Beach — was dispatched at 6:43 p.m. after a caller said that a jet ski about 200 yards offshore of Beach Access 8 had not moved for a while, the Fire Department reported.
Access 8 is located at 458 Beach Road.
Upon arrival at 6:49 p.m., the report noted, the firefighter/medics spotted the jet ski, observing that it “was moving with no issues.”
Further, the report indicated, officers on a Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office Marine Patrol vessel had made contact with the jet ski rider, who had given them “a thumbs up,” making it clear that the person was not in distress.
The firefighters/medics cleared the scene at 6:51 p.m., the report added.
On multiple occasions over the past several months, as the News Leader has reported, county Fire Department personnel have responded to emergency calls indicating the need for marine rescues, only to learn upon investigation that no one was in jeopardy.