Quick action by Ranger Police Officer Esteban Gomez resulted in the rescue of a young boy trapped by a log jam in the Des Plaines River (DPR).
On Sunday, May 18, the boy and his family were participating in the annual DPR Canoe Marathon, the largest canoe race in Illinois, when their canoe capsized. The family had tried to navigate around a fallen tree, but the current was strong and overturned their canoe. Once in the water, the boy was separated from his family after his leg became lodged in a log jam and he was unable to escape.
Officer Gomez was on duty as a race sweeper. His job was to make sure that all canoers made it through Lake County's portion of the river race safely. Just south of Deerfield Road, Officer Gomez heard someone screaming and found the boy struggling in the water. He rode alongside him, and reaching over his closed kayak tried to pull the boy out of the log jam but in doing so he also capsized. Once in the water, Officer Gomez was able to free the boy from the log jam and carry him safely to shore. On shore the young boy stated, "I didn't know policemen could swim."
Officer Gomez returned to the river and with the aid of Ranger Police Officer Ron Michaels, and a group of boy scouts who were also participating in the race, pulled the other family members and their canoe to shore. The boy scouts provided the family with dry shirts. Officer Gomez put the family back into their canoe and escorted them down the river to a safe exit point at the Lake Cook Road underpass, and then transported them by truck to their vehicle at the Oak Spring Road Canoe Launch in Libertyville.
Officer Gomez has been with the Lake County Forest Preserve District serving as a full-time Ranger Police Officer since 2006. He also serves as a part-time Police Officer for Round Lake Park.
The Lake County Forest Preserve District's professional Ranger Police and Community Service Officers receive the same rigorous law enforcement training as other police officers throughout Illinois. In addition, they receive extensive training in the areas of conservation law, wildfire management, water rescue, kayak, boat, snowmobile and ATV safety. Forest Preserve Rangers work to ensure the safety of all Preserve visitors and neighbors by patrolling and offering assistance 365 days a year.
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