Jefferson County sheriff’s deputies, bystanders rescue 2 men drowning at Lake Billy Chinook

CULVER, Ore. (KTVZ) – Two Jefferson County sheriff’s deputies and several bystanders helped rescue two men who were drowning at Lake Billy Chinook Saturday evening, Undersheriff Marc Heckathorn said.

Deputies at the Crooked River day-use area shortly before 6 p.m. saw a group of young men run from the parking lot through the park and into the water near the boat launch, swimming toward the floating dock, Heckathorn said in a Facebook post.

The deputies thought they were racing each other until they heard a person yell that someone was drowning.

“I turned around and saw two people having a hard time staying afloat,” Deputy Marti Kaczmarek recalled. “One person was submerged, and all I could see was the top of his head.

“I removed my vest and gun and jumped in the water with two other men, and we all swam out to help, approximately 25 feet out,” he said.

“One of the men and myself grabbed one victim and swam him back to Deputy (Melody) Zistel, who was now standing in the water up to her neck, and helped us pull him the last 10 feet back to the shore,” Kaczmarek continued.

“The victim was breathing but couldn’t talk and was totally out of breath,” he said. “Three more men swam out and pulled the other person out of the water as we were getting the first victim out.”

Zistel coordinated the medical response, Heckathorn said, and both men were taken by Jefferson County EMS to the hospital.

The undersheriff said the deputies wanted to thank all the bystanders who helped, and one female who helped translate information between the deputies and the two men, who were Hispanic. Heckathorn said the two deputies’ “quick actions, along with other civilian bystanders, directly led to at least two lives being saved tonight.”