Monday, April 11, 2005

The weekend's mild weather lured a couple of southwest Iowa teens into an outing that nearly had a tragic ending. The Ringgold County Sheriff's Department investigated a situation at the old Mount Ayr Lake Saturday afternoon. The report indicates a 15-year-old female was attempting to swim across the old lake and was having trouble swimming. A 9-1-1 call was received from a male subject that a female was having trouble swimming across the lake. Ringgold County sheriff's deputies, the Mount Ayr fire department, and a dive team responded. Deputy Sheriff Vic LILIENTHAL was first on the scene with a life jacket on and rescued the girl from the frigid water 60 yards out. LILIENTHAL and the girl were both transported to Ringgold County Hospital for testing. No injuries were reported and both parties were released.

Thursday, October 6, 2005

A Ringgold County Sheriff's deputy who pulled a drowning girl from a southwest Iowa lake has won the state's highest award for valor. Deputy Vic LILIENTHAL was awarded the "SULLIVAN Brothers Award of Valor" Wednesday afternoon for his heroism. "Back in April there was a 14-year-old girl [who] was swimming out there in the lake just north of Mt. Ayr and she had trouble swimming," LILIENTHAL says. "I was called to the scene and put on my life vest and swam out and got her."

The folks who nominated LILIENTHAL for the award say he went above and beyond the call of duty. LILIENTHAL was actually off-duty when the distress call came in, but he lives close to the lake, so a dispatcher called him at home and told him the girl was in trouble. He grabbed his life-vest and took off.

"If it was one my kids, I'd like to have somebody go out and get them," the deputy says.

Tonya JOHNSON, the girl LILIENTHAL saved, was among a group of teenagers that had been wading in the lake back on April 9th. "She was dared to go swim across the lake," LILIENTHAL says. But by the time she got halfway across, her legs started cramping and she couldn't swim any farther.

LILIENTHAL is a bit surprised by the all the hoopla over his heroics. "I guess I'm usually not the one to get any awards," LILIENTHAL says. "I'm just an average deputy out there doing my job." LILIENTHAL says he's proud to have been recognized with such a prestigious award. A second award of valor was presented to the widow of Leo BEAUCHAMP of Washington. BEAUCHAMP died in August at the age of 81. He was a volunteer fire fighter for 40 years and had served for the past 26 years on the board which selected the Iowans who won the state's award of valor.

Radio Iowa News

Mount Ayr Record-News
Mount Ayr, Ringgold County, Iowa
Thursday, october 13, 2005

It was a chilly day in April when the Ringgold county sheriff's office got a call.

A person was swimming in the old reservoir north of Mount Ayr and was in need of assistance.

Sheriff Mike SOBOTKA aws in Creston with his newly born child. Deputy ROb HALEY, who was on duty, was over by Kellerton.

Dispatcher D'Ambra HAINLINE got the word to them, but then she called Deputy Vic LILENTHAL, who was off duty and happened to be at work at his bait shop near the square.

What happened next saved a life that might not have been saved in any other way. And it brought Vic LILIENTHAL the Sullivan Brother's Award for Valar for Peace Officers and Fire Fighters, and award made annually by the Iowa Department of Public Safety.

LILIENTHAL received the award form Governor Tom VILSACK in a special ceremony in Des Moines Wednesday, Oct. 5.

"It was a matter of the right guy being in the right place at the right time," Sheriff SOBOTKA said.

Tonya JOHNSTON, 15, of Clearfield was at the reservoir that Saturday afternoon April 9 with some friends. According to the information LILIENTHAL later gathered, the guys dared her to swim across the lake.

She started the swim, but got into trouble while 60 or 70 yards out away from shore. One of the youth with her called 911 for help on a cell phone.

When LILIENTHAL got the call from the dispatcher, he hurried home to get his life jacket from his bass boat. An avid fisherman, he had a life jacket at his disposal and the presence of mind to stop and grab it before he headed for the lake.

It was a chilly day with temperatures in the 40's and a wind that had a chop on the water in the lake so that LILIENTHAL could only see JOHNSTON'S head bobbing between the waves on the lake.

While [a] dive team member had been called by dispatch as well, LILIENTHAL was the first helper to arrive on the scene.

Other law enforcement officials said that they would have not been prepared for a rescue if they had been the first ones on the scene.

"I don't know what would have happened if Vic hadn't been the one who got there with his life jacket," sheriff Mike SOBOTKA said. "If others of us had tried the rescue without a life jacket, we might have had more than one person not make it."

Putting on his life jacket and kicking off his shoes, LILIENTHAL waded into the water from the dam and swam toward JOHNSTON as he didn't think there was time to wait for other help to arrive.

Upon reaching her, he used life saving techniques to hold on to her and swim backwards with her toward the boat ramp in the lake.

When he got close to shore, others on shore tossed out a rope for him to grab and the pair were pulled in to safety.

JOHNSTON was able to walk out of the water at shore but because of the cold and his extertion, LILIENTHAL needed help.

He was taken to Ringgold County Hospital to get warmed back up from the 40 degree water in which he swam.

"I really came out of it fine," LILIENTHAL said. "I didn't end up with a cold or anything."

A lot of things went right for the rescue to take place, fromher friends having a pone to call for help, to LILIENTHAL getting the call and making it to the scene with his life jacket so he could swim out to help her.

What could have been a tragedy was averted because of LILINETHAL'S quick thinking and ability to help at a moment's notice.

The Sullivan Brothers Award for Valor is presented to peace officers or firefighters who, while serving in an offical capacity, distinguish themselves by the performance of a heroic act in excess of normal demands where the person is fully aware of the threat to his or her personal safety.

The late Bob BENNETT, Mike SOBOTKA'S grandfather and county sheriff before him, suggested that LILIENTHAL be nominated for the award and SOBOTKA nominated his deputy for the award a week or two after the rescue.

In May some officials of the Iowa Department of Public Safety did some interviewing in the area about the events surrounding the rescue.

The local people thought that this award was part of the awards for heroisim made each year at the Iowa State Fair, and when they didn't hear at that time, didn't give the awars another thought.

Then recently the goveror's office called to say that Lilienthal was to receive the award.

LILIENTHAL said he was shocked to be nominated for the award and even more shocked when he got the word that he would receive the award, which is a medal on a ribbon.

when LILIENTHAL went to receive the award, he was looking around for the other peace officers who would be receiving the award with him.

"I was really humbled when they told me I was the only peace officer receiving the award this year," LILINTHAL said.

As well as LILIENTHAL, Leo BEAUCHAMP of Washington, a firefighter from the Washington volunteer fire department was honored posthumously for his years of service as a firefighter and with the awardd of valor committee.

BEAUCHAMP, before he died, helped in the meeting where LILIENTHAL was chosen to receive the award this year.

"I am thankful Vic ot the award though we do not like to have to be in those kind of circumstances where we literally put our life on the line to help someone else very often," SOBOTKA noted.

Transcriptions by Sharon R. Becker