[OSMB-News] News Release -Marine Board Honors Benton County Marine Patrol with Lifesaving Awards

[Massey, Ashley]

For Immediate Release                                 Date: Thursday, November 13, 2014

Marine Board Honors Benton County Marine Patrol with Lifesaving Awards

[cid:image002.jpg at 01CFFF3D.72BED270]              The Oregon State Marine Board honored Benton County marine law enforcement deputies Eric Konzelman, Jessica Jones and Noah Lochner for their life-saving efforts during the 2014 boating season.  With their skills, expertise, timing, and teamwork, nine lives were saved.
            The North Santiam River in Benton County was deadly this year, thanks to new found popularity among rafters and tubers, an abundance of hot summer days, and numerous fallen trees and root wads in precarious locations.   The convergence of people, hot days and obstructions became apparent on June 7 when Deputy Eric Konzelman, Deputy Jessica Jones and Deputy Noah Lochner of the Benton County Sheriff's Office were dispatched to assist a stranded kayaker upstream from the Jefferson boat ramp.  A pregnant woman had been swept into debris and hit hear head and face when her craft capsized.  The deputies were able to rescue her and get her to a medical transport, when they were contacted again to help another stranded kayaker.  Upon arrival, they found a mother and her two children on a raft, snagged in the same debris pile.  The raft dislodged, was pulled into another log and began capsizing just as the deputies arrived in their patrol boat.  The children were rescued first, after Deputy Konzelman's skillfully maneuvered around the obstruction in the swift current, to maintain a safe position.  Their mother was being pulled under the log, and deputies were able to free her in time and get her aboard moments later.
The deputies returned the family to shore, but the story doesn't end there.  After returning to the scene to retrieve the submerged kayak, the deputies encountered another raft with a family of four, heading into the same debris pile.  Despite trying to warn them, they witnessed the raft going straight into the debris.  Deputy Konzelman and Deputy Lochner climbed out of their patrol boat onto a log to assist.  Deputy Konzelman lifted a 6-year old girl from the raft just before it capsized.  The child's father grabbed and clung to a log and the mother and a 4-year old son were pulled under the debris.  Deputy Lochner jumped into the water and grabbed the child as he floated downstream.  The father and mother were helped out of the water to safety.  The deputies returned the following day to remove debris and improve safety in the area.  Later in the summer, the deputies teamed up with Linn County Marine Patrol and the Marine Board to remove the larger log jam that was continuing to claim more watercraft as water levels dropped. A similar logjam upriver claimed the life of a canoeist in July, underscoring the need for all waterway users to know their waterway, scout ahead and walk around debris when they see it.
            Marine Board staff and Board Member Jen Tonneson were honored to present Life Saving Awards to Deputy Konzelman, Deputy Jones and Deputy Lochner for their quick response and vigilance to keeping this stretch of the North Santiam River safe for others this summer.



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Pictured: Marine Board Director Scott Brewen, Deputy Eric Konzelman, Marine Board Member Jen Tonneson, and Deputy Jessica Jones.


Ashley A. Massey
Public Information Officer
Oregon State Marine Board
503-378-2623
Ashley.massey at state.or.us<mailto:Ashley.massey at state.or.us>
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