The Polk County Rescue Squad now has a boat equipped for water rescue.

The squad purchased a new Sylvan 25 ft. tri toon pontoon rescue boat recently using a combination of donations and some financing.The new boat is equipped with side image and sonar, which includes a screen to help find bodies in waters.

The rescue squad has a dive team that is certified in scuba diving for water search and rescue.&bsp; The squad does rescues within Polk County as well as assisting other counties, including water searches. The team often has to do searches in Lake Adger, the countys largest water source, as well as in numerous ponds throughout the county.

Just last month, the rescue squad was involved in searching for two men who drowned in Lake Adger. The father and son, of Hendersonville, were fishing and drowned while trying to save the fathers young daughter, who fell off the boat while asleep. The men apparently got caught in debris at the bottom of the lake. They were found by rescuers using equipment from surrounding counties.

Polk rescue officials say the new boat with its search equipment will be very helpful for Polk County searches and can also be used to assist other counties.

Donations are still welcome as further equipment for the boat is still needed. Contact the Polk County Rescue Squad located in Columbus to contribute.