Three women from Minneapolis were rescued from Steamboat Lake in rural Cass Lake Wednesday after their boat drifted away while they were swimming, leaving them struggling to stay afloat in windy conditions. The Cass County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call at 12:47 p.m. after a woman had swum to shore, exhausted, and reported two others were still in the water. Deputies arrived within minutes. Resort guests immediately launched a boat to search for the remaining victims. A nearby fisherman also spotted an unoccupied boat drifting in heavy winds and joined the search. Together, the resort guests and a fisherman located the two women in the water and pulled them to safety. According to the sheriff’s office, the three women had been boating when they decided to swim. They entered the water without anchoring the boat, which then drifted away in the wind. None of the women had life jackets on. All three were treated on scene by Leech Lake Ambulance for minor injuries, including exhaustion and water intake, and are expected to be ok. Cass County Sheriff Bryan Welk credited the outcome to the swift action of bystanders. “Sheriff Welk credits the successful outcome of this dangerous situation to the quick action taken by the resort guests and the fisherman on the lake to act quickly and safely to get to the victims and get them safely into their boats for rescue.” Wind gusts of 25 to 30 mph were reported at the time of the rescue.