No Injuries for Westchester Family Rescued from Sinking Ship

Police have released the name of a Westchester family who was rescued from their sinking motorboat off the shore of Greenwich, Ct. around 8:38 a.m. Sunday. 

The Staar family - George Staar, 66, of Mount Vernon and Paul Starr, 38 and his 5-year-old son Evan, of Hawthorne- were uninjured after police rescued them from their 25-foot Carolina Sportfish. Paul Staar called police after the boat started taking on water and sinking near Great Captain’s Island off Greenwich.

The Westchester County Police Marine and Aviation Units, Rye, Port Chester and the United States Coast Guard all responded to the family’s call for help. 

Here is the County Police Department’s description of their role in the rescue:

The Westchester County Police Marine and Aviation Units teamed up on Sunday to rescue a Westchester man from the Long Island Sound and assist his son and grandson to shore.

At 8:38 a.m., the county police Marine 2 patrol boat was on patrol on the Long Island Sound near Rye Playland when a mayday call was received over the marine radio.  The caller reported that his vessel was taking on water and sinking in the area of Great Captain’s Island off the Greenwich, Conn., shore.  Three persons aboard the vessel had to jump into the water. All were wearing Personal Flotation Devices, more commonly known as life vests.

The Marine Unit, with Detective C.J. Westbrook and Police Officer Isai Moreira aboard, proceeded to the area along with marine units from the Greenwich and Rye police departments.  The Aviation Unit also responded and spotted three persons in the water waving for help, one of them clinging to a cooler. The Marine Unit, guided by Aviation, was able to locate the man, throw him a rescue device known as a throw bag and pull him aboard the police boat.

He was later identified as George Starr, 56, of Mount Vernon.

The Aviation Unit helicopter, staffed by Police Officers Michael Brady and Brian Poplawski, then landed on shore.  They saw Paul Starr, 38, of Hawthorne and his 5-year-old son Evan swimming toward shore and assisted them as they arrived on land.

Marine Unit officers began dewatering operations and assisted Rye PD and Tow Boat US personnel in keeping the vessel from sinking. The vessel, a 25-foot Carolina sportfish registered, was subsequently towed back to its home port in Nassau County.

The incident was formally investigated by the Greenwich Police Department.

Read Patch’s original report on this rescue here.