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PROVO — Two Utah County men are lucky to be alive after a frightening night on Utah Lake late last month. The men nearly lost their lives when their boat overturned on Saturday, Oct. 26. They escaped with their lives — but still experienced a heartbreaking loss.
“All day long there was not a breath of wind,” Kevin Moreau said of Saturday. “It was really like a mirror. The wind started to blow a little and we decided it was time to go and when he turned that corner, the wind hit us like a freight train.”
Moreau, his neighbor, and his beloved dog, Gus, rode out the swells as they attempted to head for shore.
“We were halfway up a wave and we went sideways and the wave rolled over us and filled the whole boat in a second,” Moreau said.
For 90 minutes, they all held on.
“We said a prayer and the entire time I was at complete calm and complete peace,” Moreau said. “I told the 911 operator that if they don’t find us before dark then they never will.”
A rescue boat finally arrived at their vessel, which was submerged by that point.
“I turned around and asked where my dog was,” Moreau remembered. “I wasn’t going to leave without my dog.”
It was too late, and Gus was nowhere to be found.
“I’m just devastated,” he said.
Moreau has been out every day since looking for him.
“My gut kind of tells me that he’s gone, but I do still have some hope.”
Part of that hope comes from the outpouring of support he’s received — complete strangers have been helping in the search for Gus along the banks of Utah Lake.
“I want to thank all the guys of the Utah Waterfowl Associations,” Moreau said, with tears in his eyes. “There are just hundreds of people reaching out.”
Moreau said he lost more than $30,000 in equipment in the ordeal, but the money isn’t what hurts the most.
“I just really love and miss my dog,” he said.
Now, he wants to get the word out about just how dangerous the lake can be.
“You really need to watch the weather and you really need your safety gear with you,” he said. “You have to be prepared.”
