Empty wheelchair a lakeside worry, but swimmer was fine
 

Empty wheelchair a lakeside worry, but swimmer was fine









Edward Bollenbach emerged from the water at Holland Beach in Winsted on Tuesday to find several local police officers and firefighters waiting for him, with more on the way.

A competitive swimmer who placed first in the 60- to 64-year-old men's division at this year's Madison Mile Open Water Swim with a time two seconds shy of 29 minutes, Bollenbach unwittingly triggered an alarm which went out to local rescuers and Goshen's dive team after his empty wheelchair was spotted at the access ramp.

"Next time I'll put a sign on the wheelchair that says, 'I'm OK,'" a chagrined but smiling Bollenbech said following his two-mile afternoon swim in Highland Lake. Bollenbach, who taught chemistry and biology for three decades at Northwestern Connecticut Community College, returned to shore before the dive team reached the scene.

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