Saturday, January 07, 2012

New Years 2012 Call...



It was January 1st and the Dive Resuce Team was ready to have our first
dive of the year. We were to meet at the squad building on Sunday afternoon for
a fun and leisurely dive. However, things dont always go as planned. At 8:30 am
we received the call of a possible submersion. On the shore of "The Lake of the
Lillies", one of the many local lakes in Point Pleasant, a pair of shoes, a belt
and a pair of socks were found. No actual report of a sighting, but it must be
treated just the same.
.
Responders included the Police, Point Pleasant Fire Dept, Point Pleasant
Boro First Aid & Dive Team, as well as the Point Pleasant EMS & Dive
ResuceTeam. Appoximately 30-40 resuce personel were on scene.
From the possible point of entry we instituted a search pattern using over
160' of search line. Using a semi-circular expanding line search we walked
through the sub-50 degree waters of the lake with negative results. While the
divers executed the search pattern in the water, the Point Boro Dive Team
searched the shores using their Rescue Boat and Kayak. No trace of a victim was
found and all rescue personel were pulled from the water. We searched the shores
of the lake, pressing through the dense reeds and thorns for possible exits,
entries or other evidence.
.
The State Police helicopter arrived on scene and found several possible
hotspots. These turned out to be a banner and a large plastic bag. After over 5
hours on scene the decision was made to call off the search until further
evidence was forthcoming...
.
The fire dept was very helpful as they brought their decontamination unit
and it was much appreciated after traipsing through all the goose droppings and
muck. Hats off to all the resuce personel for a job well done.

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