PORT CLINTON, Ohio (12 Sep 2005) -- Ernie Washington has been diving in search of dead bodies since 1960. It isn't a task the 79-year-old Catawba Island resident enjoys. But it's a job he, like his fellow Ottawa County Sheriff Underwater Recovery Team members, knows is necessary however gruesome. "The faster you make the closure, the better it is for the family," said diver Steve Sheridan, 52. "Until they actually see them and bury them, it's never complete." Sheridan, Washington and 10 other dive team members volunteer their time year-round for search and rescue efforts when a person drowns or goes missing on Lake Erie, the Portage River or other area bodies of water. They've responded to 12 calls so far this year, a moderate number, said Jeff Hickman, dive team coordinator. They found the body an elderly man who died in a pond outside Oak Harbor and pulled two people thrown from a capsized boat on the Sandusky Bay to safety. Hickman's favorite call, however, was an afternoon in July when a little boy's family feared he had fallen off the boat and drowned. The team joined other law enforcement agencies in a search that lasted more than an hour, only to learn the boy was hiding inside the boat. Although some might say their efforts were wasted that afternoon, the team was glad to end the day without pulling out a dead body. "That makes you feel good," said Hickman, an Ottawa County Sheriff's sergeant. "If someone's been in the water more than an hour, it's too late." The team, however, does more than search for bodies. Law enforcement agencies have called members to look for evidence, such as cars, Hickman said. Divers have also inspected sewer lines around Johnson's Island in Marblehead and other areas. | | The team is a branch of the sheriff's office, although most of its members are private residents who average about 400 hours of volunteer service, Hickman said. Most started diving as a hobby, they said. They joined the dive team when it was an independent group based at New Wave Dive Shop in Erie Township and stayed on when it became part of the sheriff's office in 1993, Hickman said. The county funds the team's cost for insurance, fuel and maintenance, but the members bought most of the equipment for their base on East Perry Street, Hickman said. Members have fund-raisers to help meet team's other operational needs, said Joe Alix, assistant coordinator. The divers tend to use their own equipment on calls because it is more modern that what the team has on hand at its office, said Alix, 38, Clay Township. The team's next event, an all-you-can eat pancake and sausage breakfast Sept. 18 at the Port Clinton Moose Lodge, will raise money for new equipment, Alix said. "We're trying to upgrade, so we don't always have to use our own gear," Alix said. SOURCE - The News-Messenger |
