A mailboat rescued a Florida man who was swimming across the Detroit River Monday night. After a 10-minute search, the boat crew spotted a man swimming inside a life ring. According to a press release, the life ring was thrown to the man by someone on the Canadian shoreline. “Luckily, somebody threw him that life ring, because even with a life ring, he was struggling. Where we found him, he’d made it almost halfway across the river, paddling in the life ring. But who knows what would have happened, you know, if we hadn’t been able to find him,” Captain Neil Schultheiss said.

After rescuing the man from the water, he told crew members that he was an American citizen from Florida and was attempting to get back to the U.S. Crew members said the man seemed disoriented and under the influence. He was cold but allegedly didn’t have any physical injuries. “We tried to get him to come inside the cabin and sit down, and he just kind of kept pacing around the front deck saying, ‘Is this boat U.S.? Are we going back to the U.S.?’” Schultheiss said. The crew initially planned to return the man to Canada, however, the Florida man was transferred to a Detroit EMS unit in a stable condition.

While it is technically possible to swim across the Detroit River, it is not advisable due to strong currents, boat traffic, and the potential for cold water temperatures.