Tribune staff reports

Two men stranded on a sandbar in the East Fork White River in the northeastern part of Jackson County were rescued early Monday morning, police report.

The two Seymour men, Jeremy Howard, 36, and Devin Ball, 19, told police they became stranded after their boat lost power and they lost their oars, according to a news release from the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department. The men told dispatchers they were wet and cold, but they did start a fire.

County officers Rick Meyer and Jesse Hutchinson walked about a half-mile before finding the two men on the sandbar just south of the Bartholomew County line.

One of the two men also lost his shoes and had to walk barefoot until Officer Rob Henley and county Reserve Officer Eric Browalski arrived on an off-road vehicle to take them out of the wooded area.

The incident was reported at 12:49 a.m. Monday.