An Ontario man has apologized for a drunken stunt that sparked an international rescue effort and eventually led to his arrest. Late Monday night, John Morillo, threw back roughly eight beers and decided to swim to Detroit on a bet.
Windsor police were notified by Morillo’s neighbor who wanted to witness the swim, but got concerned about thirty minutes after she lost sight of him. The police then notified the Canadian and U.S. coast guards. Three boats and a helicopter were deployed to search for Morillo who was found by the U.S. coast guard at 12:50 a.m., swimming on the Canadian side.
He was charged with being intoxicated in a public place and will likely be fined for swimming in a shipping channel. Police said the Windsor Port Authority was also investigating the incident.
It was only after Morillo saw the extent of the rescue effort that he realized that the stunt may not have been the brightest idea: “As soon I saw the helicopters going by and the boats looking for me, I was like ‘oh, this is really stupid.”
Morillo added: “I never should have done it. I’ve been telling people I could swim across the river for 20 years and they all laughed at me, and I finally did it. But I would not suggest anybody do it. There are giant fines for doing it, crossing the shipping lanes. It’s just really stupid and I apologize for all the people that had to go out looking for me.”
Photo: Dax Melmer/The Windsor Star
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