Two New Jersey lifeguards thought it might be a good idea to cap an evening of drinking and dining by swimming four miles across open water.
Instead, they triggered a massive air and sea rescue attempt, which was only called off when the pair emerged dripping and healthy at their destination, reports the Asbury Park (N.J.) Press.
A banquet in the borough of Atlantic Highlands (search) was winding down early Tuesday morning when witnesses said they saw Craig Scanlan, 24, and Kevin Vanbuskirk, 21, strip down to their bathing suits, run to the end of a dock and plunge into the pitch-black water.
Apparently they were headed for their lodgings at Sandy Hook National Park (search), where both were summer lifeguards, four miles across Raritan Bay (search).
Atlantic Highlands' rescue squad failed to find the two, so divers and fire departments from five neighboring municipalities, as well as the New York City police aviation unit, National Park Service rangers and the U.S. Coast Guard, were called in.
Boats and helicopters fruitlessly searched the bay as rescuers worried that the combined effects of food, alcohol, distance and darkness had done the duo in.
At 3:40 a.m., two hours after they'd dived in, Scanlan and Vanbuskirk walked onto the beach in the Fort Hancock area of Sandy Hook, where they were met by very angry park rangers.
The men said they'd navigated by simply heading for the Sandy Hook lighthouse.
Atlantic Highlands police charged them with disorderly conduct and swimming in a commercial harbor. The borough may also hit them with some or all of the costs of the search-and-rescue operation.
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A tutu-clad Canadian who jumped into the Olympic diving pool after a competition was convicted Wednesday of interrupting the games and sentenced to five months in jail. He was released pending an appeal.
Ron Bensimhon, 31, of Montreal, jumped off the 3-meter springboard at the diving venue last Monday night wearing a blue tutu and white tights with polka dots.
"I didn't think what I did was so serious. I won't do it again," he told the judge.
Bensimhon had what looked like an advertisement for an Internet casino written across his chest but denied staging the stunt for money. He told the court he wanted to honor legendary Greek marathon runner Spyros Louis (search), who won gold in the first modern Olympics in 1896.
The incident prompted organizers to tighten security at Olympic venues with police officers dressed as volunteers.
In March, Bensimhon disrupted the world figure-skating championships in Dortmund, Germany, when he skated onto the ice and donned a tutu as defending champion Michelle Kwan was about to perform. Painted on his chest was the name of a Web site.
After that event, Bensimhon was almost immediately released because his infraction was deemed only disorderly conduct and not an offense meriting arrest.
— Thanks to Out There reader Peter L.
Man Runs Out of Job Interview, Catches Thief, Saves Infant, Gets Job
TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — A man bolted from a job interview when he saw a woman steal his truck with his sleeping 6-month-old daughter inside. The prospective employers say he'll be hired.
The episode unfolded last Monday afternoon as the unidentified man was talking with John Delgado and Nick Delin about working as a cook at their restaurant, Big Nick's Pizza and Pasta (search), police and the owners said.
Delin told The News Tribune the man kept an eye on his extended-cab pickup, keys at the ready, as his baby slept in her car seat in the back seat of the vehicle, which was locked with the air conditioner running.
Nearing the end of the interview, a woman apparently used master keys to enter the truck and took off.
"He just flew out the door," Delin said.
Delin and the job seeker gave chase in Delgado's sport utility vehicle and the father called police.
They lost sight of the truck briefly, then spotted it crossing the street from an alley into a gravel lot, where they confronted the driver. Police arrived within seconds and took her into custody.
The baby slept through the whole drama.
The woman, who repeatedly claimed she thought the baby was a fake, was booked into the Pierce County Jail for investigation of auto theft and first-degree kidnapping, police officer Mark Fulghum said.
The father was not arrested for leaving his child unattended in the truck, but that aspect remained under investigation.
"For right now, we're glad everybody came out OK," Fulghum said.
Meanwhile, Delin and Delgado decided not to resume the interview.
"He's going to have the job," Delgado said.
Horse Meets Car Meets Alcohol; Horse Wins
RIGA, Latvia (AP) — Police in eastern Latvia were trying to determine Wednesday what charges to bring against a drunken horse-and-buggy driver who caused a drunken motorist to crash into a ditch, flipping his car.
The accident happened just before midnight Monday near Kraslava, 140 miles east of the Latvian capital, Riga. The driver of the horse-and-buggy made an illegal turn onto a main road when he should have yielded to an oncoming car, said Kraslava police spokeswoman Ingrida Nevedomska.
To avoid crashing into the horse-and-buggy, the driver of the car, a Volkswagen Golf, veered into a roadside ditch, flipping his car, Nevedomska said. The driver was not seriously hurt.
Police, who did not release the names of the drivers, administered breathalyzer tests and determined they were both legally drunk, Kraslava traffic police chief Uldis Ornicans said.
The driver of the car was fined $830 and had his license revoked.
But police were unsure what to do about the horse-and-buggy driver — only motor vehicles and bicycles are covered under the country's drunk-driving laws.
"How do you ticket a guy driving a horse-and-buggy?" Nemedomska said.
Ornicans said the man at the reins would probably be charged with having caused an accident but declined to specify what penalties he might face.
As for the horse, Nevedomska said, it seemed sober.
Video Camera Sniffs Out Dog-Doo Culprit
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A state Senate leader says he has the scoop on the poop in the state Capitol.
Senate Republican leader Louis DeLuca told reporters last Thursday that he had a surveillance videotape proving that Democratic state Sen. Edith Prague's dog left a surprise in the Public Safety Committee room last week.
Prague, who's from Columbia, Conn., initially denied that her dog, Molly the Shih Tzu, was the culprit, and she blamed a seeing-eye dog belonging to a worker in DeLuca's office.
After seeing the tape, Prague was stunned.
"I said, 'Oh my God! It is my dog, and I won't bring her in anymore,'" said Prague, who had been asked before to stop bringing her dog into the Capitol.
Then she said DeLuca might have more important things to worry about.
DeLuca, of Woodbury, said he felt he had to make the tape public because Prague was blaming a blind person.
"It's a shameless thing to blame a sightless person with a seeing-eye dog when you know it was your own," he said.
Capitol police watched the videotape, which shows Prague's dog making an unaccompanied visit to the committee room.
"Modern technology is wonderful," DeLuca said. "It shows the dog in the room that day not doing the deed, but in the room."
Capitol Police Chief Bill Morgan said his office handles such situations diplomatically.
"When we find there are people who violate the rules, we try to correct the problem," he said, without offering any details on the matter.
Compiled by FOXNews.com's Paul Wagenseil.
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