BREAKING NEWS: Curry County Sheriff Reort On June 2, 2014, at about 5:38pm, The Brookings Police Department received a 911 call of a boy in the surf at Harris Beach and he could not get to shore. Brookings Police and Fire along with Curry County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to the scene. Deputy Terry Brown arrived on scene and noticed the boy was really struggling and was in imminent danger. Deputy Brown striped his gear off to his pants and t-shirt, put a life vest on and had a rope attached to him so ground crews could pull him in. The rip current was extremely strong and Deputy Brown had difficulty reaching the boy. (The boy was later identified as Joshua 14 years of age and from Brooking) Upon the deputy reaching Joshua he had to release the rope and hang on to Joshua to keep him from going under and drowning. Other responders then had difficulty reaching Brown and Joshua. Rescue Swimmer Logan Couch from the Sheriff’s Search and Rescue and Lt. Ward were able to get their rescue gear on and attempted a couple of times to reach Brown and the boy but were unable to do so. The Coast Guard launched a smaller boat but determined the surf was too rough to reach the pair. Rescue swimmer Couch then reached both Brown and Joshua and held on to them. At this time both had been in the water for about 45 minutes and were showing severe signs of hypothermia. Lt Ward and Brookings Police and Fire were then able to connect ropes to the group and get them to shore. Upon getting to shore it was determined that Deputy Brown was in critical condition and slipping into unconscious. Josh was determined to be hypothermic but medically not in as bad of shape. The Park rangers had brought an ATV down to the beach so both patients could be transported to the ambulances as fast as possible. Deputy Brown and Josh were transported by Cal-Or life flights to Sutter Coast hospital. Deputy Brown was taken first and arrived in the Emergency Room at critical status. Josh arrived later and was hypothermic but stable. Both are expected to fully recover but were held overnight for observation. Josh is expected to be released today while no time has been set for Deputy Brown. The team work by all involved, Brookings Police, Brookings Fire, Deputies, and medical staff was outstanding. By all accounts Deputy Brown saved Joshua’s life as he would have drowned due to hypothermia. The rest of the team then saved both Joshua and Deputy Brown. The EMT’s of Cal-Or gave expert care and the Hospital Staff knew exactly what to do to get Deputy Brown’s core temperature up quickly. I would also like to thank Del-Norte County Sheriff, Dean Wilson and his staff for personally being at the hospital when Deputy Brown and Joshua arrived. This should also serve as a reminder that Summer Time is here and water can be very unforgiving. Please be safe when at the beach or at the river. John Bishop Sheriff, Curry County
Posted on: Tue, 03 Jun 2014 16:23:37 +0000
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