An elderly man was safely rescued from the chilly waters of Toledo Bend Reservoir after striking a stump and most of his boat sank near Huxley Tuesday morning.

According to an online article on ShelbyCountyToday.com, 75-year old A.L. Magby, a commercial fisherman, said he didn’t see a stump earlier that morning, got hung up and the back end of his boat went under.

Magby said he was able to get to the front of the boat, tied it to a stump and crawled up on a small part of the vessel that was out of the water, and waited to be rescued. Magby said he had been in the water for over four-and-a-half hours.

The article reported Constable Pct. 3 Billy Hearnsberger and residents near the lake launched a boat and took part in the rescue.

Magby’s calls for help were heard by a bulldozer operator who was taking a break on a Forest Service road off County Road 3405 at Toomey’s Bridge, north of Huxley.

Magby reportedly has a heart condition and was in distress, but refused transfer to the hospital by ambulance, electing to go by private vehicle.