Photos by R.J. Liberatore Jr.


By R.J. LIBERATORE Jr.
Staff Writer

PLEASANTVILLE – A mentally ill city resident had to be rescued by hovercraft at 1 p.m. Friday, Jan. 11 after he had spent about two hours standing in the chilly marsh on the city’s east end.

Donald Ford, 55, of Pleasantville was rescued by city police officer Herbert Simons and Scullville Volunteer Fire Department hovercraft driver Chad Warmoth from a location about 300 feet off of the end of Old Turnpike Road.

Simons said he pulled Ford into the hovercraft and handcuffed the man for his own protection.

Ford had endured water temperatures in the mid-40s and air temperatures in the mid 50s, Pleasantville Captain Frank Balles said.

Police were notified about Ford by an Atlantic City Expressway motorist, who had spotted the man standing in the marsh, Balles said. Ford was standing within view of the Expressway’s Pleasantville Toll Plaza.

Members of the state police and city police responded to the scene, but had to wait at the end of Old Turnpike Road until Scullville’s hovercraft unit arrived.

The craft floats on air and can navigate marshy areas, said Warmoth, 35, of Egg Harbor Township. Warmoth has been a member of the Scullville department for 14 years.

Ward was taken to the AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center, City Campus for medical evaluation and then to the Crisis Intervention Center in Atlantic City. He had been admitted three times at the center in recent months, Balles said.

“He has mental issues,” Balles said. “Nothing he told our officer made any sense.”

Balles said Ford did not appear to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

“It’s all water out there,” Balles said. “You’d get stuck if you tried to walk out there.”

Balles said he was unsure why the man had wandered into the marsh.