ACCIDENTS
ACCIDENTS ON THE OHIO. WITH SUMMER IN FULL SWING - THE FOCUS TEAM IS
TAKING A CLOSER LOOK AT
THE
RISKS OF THE RIVER.
TONIGHT - FOCUS INVESTIGATOR
HEATHER FOUNTAINE CONTINUES HER
SERIES BY TALKING TO LAW
ENFORCEMENT AND VOLUNTEERS WHO MAKE IT THEIR
MISSION
TO FIND THOSE WHO HAVE GONE
OVERBOARD.
OVERBOARD.
SO
SO WHAT
SO WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO IS SET UP A Z- PATTERN LINE RIGHT
OUT HERE
SUITING UP
TO GET OFF THE STREETS
TWO AT A TIME
AND INTO THE WATER
THERE'S NOTHING
DOWN THERE, WE DIDN'T THROW
ANYTHING IN THERE FOR YOU TO
FIND
MONTHLY TRAININGS LIKE THIS...
WE'RE GOING TO GO UP
AND THEN BACK
ARE NECESSARY TO MAKE SURE A
DIVER'S SKILLS AREN'T MUDDIED...
MUCH LIKE THE WATER THEY'RE
SWIMMING IN 15:01:38 ABSOLUTELY
EVERYTHING WE DO IN THE RIVER IS
BY
BY FEEL.
BY FEEL. VERY RARELY WILL WE HAVE ANY KIND OF VISIBILITY WATCH AS OUR CAMERA DROPS BELOW
THE SURFACE....
THE SURFACE.... THE FARTHER DOWN IT GOES... THE
HARDER IT IS TO SEE....
UNTIL EVENTUALLY, TOTAL DARKNESS
15:02:49 HOW FAR CAN
THESE DIVERS SEE IN FRONT OF THEM? MOST OF THE TIME, IT'S NOT
EVEN THEIR HAND IN FRONT OF
THEIR FACE OFFICER CHAD CRICK IS AN
INSTRUCTOR FOR
INSTRUCTOR FOR
THE
THE LOUISVILLE METRO POLICE DIVE TEAM.
TEAM.
TEAM. 15:03:17 THEY GO DOWN, PRETTY MUCH CRAWL ON THE
BOTTOM UNTIL THEY EITHER BUMP
INTO SOMETHING OR THEY COME
ACROSS SOMETHING BY THEIR
HANDS
HANDS THEY'RE CALLED UPON REGULARLY TO
LOOK
LOOK
LOOK FOR
LOOK FOR EVIDENCE... 15:07;22 IT IT COULD BE
SOMEBODY ROBBING A BANK AND
THROWING
THE GUN IN THE RIVER
15:07:08 WE'VE
RECOVERED STOLEN CARS BEFORE.
BUT EVERY SO OFTEN...
THE SEARCH FOR SOMETHING - IS
INSTEAD A SEARCH FOR SOMEONE
15:10:50 IF SOMEONE
GOES MISSING IN THE RIVER, HOW
DIFFICULT
DIFFICULT IS IT REALLY TO FIND THEM? IT'S VERY DIFFICULT
16:37:05 HERE, ON
AVERAGE, 1 PERSON DIES EVERY
YEAR, ONE
PERSON DROWNS EVERY YEAR DALE A.
BROWN HAS BEEN WORKING WITH
THE FALLS OF THE OHIO STATE PARK
FOR MORE
FOR MORE
FOR MORE THAN A DECADE... AND IS FAMILIAR WITH THE RIVER'S
ROUTINE...
ROUTINE... AND ITS RISKS TWO YEARS AGO WE
HAD TWO FISHERMAN GOT SWEPT IN
THE
RIVER WHO WERE EXPERIENCED
FISHERMAN. ONE WAS ABLE TO BE
RESCUED
BY A BYSTANDER, THE OTHER ONE
WAS
FOUND SIX MILES DOWN RIVER BY
SHERMAN
MINTON BRIDGE
18:04:49 I WAS WITH HIM
THAT MORNING, HE HAD JUST BOUGHT
A BOAT JOSH LUNSFORD WAS A
FRIEND
FRIEND TO
FRIEND TO DONNIE WATSON FOR SIX YEARS.
YEARS.
HE
HE SAYS
HE SAYS THE 26- YEAR-OLD WAS ANXIOUS TO GET HIS NEW BOAT ON THE
WATER...
THE WATER... HIS FIRST TIME OPERATING ONE ON
THE
THE
THE OHIO
THE OHIO RIVER. 18:05:11 AFTER HE
WENT SOMEWHERE HE SHOULDN'T HAVE
BEEN
IN THE
FIRST PLACE HIS BOAT
STOPPED
WORKING
STOPPED WORKING DONNIE AND ANOTHER BOATER WERE
IN A
RESTRICTED AREA PAST THE SECOND
STREET BRIDGE...
THE CURRENT
PUSHED THEM TOWARDS
THE MCALPINE DAM
18:05:21
18:05:21 I WAS ACTUALLY ON THE PHONE WITH HIM TRYING TO GET THE BOAT STARTED
AS HE
WAS GETTING CLOSER TO THE FALLS
18:05:29 AND THEN MY
PHONE
CALL ENDED TO HIM WITHOUT
SAYING
BYE. BUT THAT WAS THE LAST TIME
I SPOKE TO
HIM AT THE TIME, OFFICIALS SAID THE
MEN QUICKLY
MEN QUICKLY PUT THEIR LIFE JACKETS ON BEFORE
THEY
THEY WERE
THEY WERE THROWN OVERBOARD. ACCORDING TO DNR, THE MEN WERE SUCKED
THROUGH THE DAM WHICH RIPPED
THEIR
LIFE JACKETS A PART.
LARRY CHURCH WAS A STRANGER TO
DONNIE... BUT HEARD ABOUT THE
SEARCH AND RUSHED TO THE RIVER
TO HELP.
17:42:20 ALL THESE
BUDDIES GOT ON MY BOAT AND WE
WENT
LOOKING
WENT LOOKING INCLUDING JOSH.
AFTER THREE DAYS ON LARRY'S
BOAT....
17:45:20 WE WAS
PASSING NEW ALBANY WHEN I COME
UNDERNEATH THE BRIDGE AND THAT'S
WHEN I SEEN HIM HE WAS DOWN BY
THE POWER PLANT AND THAT'S WHERE WE
LOCATED HIM
LOCATED HIM 17:45:35 HE ACTUALLY FLOATED BY HIS FAMILY THAT WAS
ON THE BANK
LOOKING
18:08:28 I SAT OVER THE
SIDE OF THE BOAT HOLDING ONTO
HIM WITH MY HAND ON HIS BACK
JUST YOU KNOW, TALKING TO HIM
LARRY SAYS HE'S HELPED RECOVER
SIX PEOPLE FROM THE OHIO
RIVER.....
HE RELIES HEAVILY ON HIS SONAR
TECHNOLOGY... AND SO DOES LMPD.
THE SURFACE WOULD
BE UP HERE, AND THEN RIGHT HERE IS THE
BOTTOM OF THE RIVER
OFFICER CRICK SAYS THIS SONAR
SPOTS
OBJECTS DIRECTLY UNDER THE
BOAT...
HE SHOWED US WHAT THE DIVERS WHO
WERE
WERE
WERE TRAINING LOOKED LIKE ON THE BOTTOM OF THE
RIVER.
I THINK THE BUBBLES
ARE DISTORTING IT, BUT THAT'S
THEM RIGHT
THERE
AND THEN... THIS TREE - WHICH IS
A BIT MORE
OBVIOUS.... SEE HOW IT HAS THE
LIMB THAT COMES OUT?
THE POLICE BOAT IS EQUIPPED WITH
INFRARED TECHNOLOGY, TOO.
IF THE PERSON IS STILL ALIVE AND THEY'VE ONLY BEEN IN
THE WATER FOR A SHORT AMOUNT OF
TIME, THEN
TIME, THEN THEY'RE GOING TO SHOW UP WHITE ON THE SCREEN.
HE SAYS THE CAMERAS ARE AN
ESPECIALLY
IMPORTANT TOOL WHEN CONDITIONS
ARE TOO
DANGEROUS FOR THE DIVERS
15:15:35 THERE HAS
BEEN SEVERAL MISONS THAT WE -
YOU KNOW YOU JUST FEEL HELPLESS
BECAUSE THERE'S . THE
ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO
DO
DO
DO WHAT
DO WHAT YOU NEED TO DO TO COMPLETE
THE
THE
THE MISSION IT'S WHY 'LAST SEEN' POINTS NEED
TO BE
TO BE
TO BE ACCURATE - IF THERE'S A CHANCE FOR THIS
UNIT TO FIND SOMEONE.
15:11:20
15:11:20 YOU CAN SPEND A LOT OF TIME ON DIVERS IN
AN AREA THAT MAY NOT EVEN BE THE
AREA THAT YOU
SHOULD BE SEARCHING AND THAT'S HAPPENED
BEFORE
HAPPENED BEFORE CRICK IS ASKING ALL BOATERS IN
THIS
COMMUNITY TO BE CAREFUL...
15:16:38 MAKE SURE
YOU HAVE LIFE JACKETS ON
15:10:19
15:10:19 WE'VE NEVER RECOVERED ANYBODY THAT'S HAD A LIFE JACKET ON...
THAT GOES FOR EVEN THE MOST
EXPERIENCED ON THE WATER....
17:54:55 KNOW YOUR
EQUIPMENT AND IT'S CAPABILITY
17:54:25 DOWN BELOW
THAT DAM. YOU MESS UP DOWN THERE
- A LOT
- A LOT
OF
OF TIMES
OF TIMES YOU MESS UP ONCE. YOU DON'T GET A SECOND TIME.
LARRY AND JOSH KEEP RADIOS ON
THE BOAT...
SO THEY CAN CALL FOR HELP AT ANY
TIME.
TIME.
18:13:13
18:13:13 EVERYTHING ABOUT WATER IS AWESOME AND I WOULDN'T CHANGE IT FOR ANYTHING
Y
OU
Y OU
Y OU JUST
Y OU JUST GOTTA KNOW YOUR STUFF
WHETHER YOU'RE ON A CANOE
WHETHER YOU'RE ON A
PONTOON WHETHER YOU'RE JUST
SITTING
ON A DOCK, YOU GOTTA BE READY
FOR JUST
ABOUT ANYTHING
I FIRST MET LARRY
CHURCH DURING THE SEARCH FOR
JACOB
STOVER...
JACOB STOVER...
STOVER...
A
A 16
A 16 YEAR
A 16 YEAR OLD KAYAKER WHO WENT MISSING ON THE OHIO RIVER BACK IN
JANUARY.
IN JANUARY. AS A PART OF THIS DEEPER LOOK AT
THE
THE
THE RISKS
THE RISKS OF THE RIVER, I ALSO TALKED JAKE'S
PARENTS - AND SHARED THEIR
WARNINGS
ABOUT THE WATER.
YOU CAN FIND THAT STORY ON OUR
WEBSITE, WHAS-11- DOT-COM. FOR
FOCUS, I'M HEATHER FOUNTAINE.
IF YOU HAVE A STORY YOU'D LIKE
OUR FOCUS TEAM TO INVESTIGATE, SEND US AN