Village of Sylvan Beach- According to Sheriff Robert M.

Village of Sylvan Beach- According to Sheriff Robert M. Maciol; On Tuesday, 06/09/2026, at about 11:55am, the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office Marine Patrol Unit responded to a boat accident on Oneida Lake for a boat that struck the Breakwater entering the Erie Canal and was hard aground.

Marine-2, which was near Buoy-107, was flagged down by a passing PWC and advised of the situation. Marine-2 was on scene about 3 minutes later and determined that the 2 souls on board were not injured.

A short time later Marine-4 arrived on scene and removed the skipper, Richard R. Ressler, age-71, and his first mate, Lavinia W. Yoder, age-70, both from Gap, Pennsylvania, without incident.

The salvage recovery effort was conducted by TowBoatU.S. Oneida Lake and was completed by about 1:30pm. Intoxication was not a factor in this accident, the skipper was unfamiliar with Oneida Lake’s aids to navigation.