River rescue an example of cooperation
Some of the first responders involved in the river rescue of a 19-year-old man on July 4 are calling it a great example of teamwork among eight different agencies.
The teen was found on a gravel bar in a difficult to access area of the lower San Marcos River near Great Gonzo’s tubes and was suffering a seizure and a “possible overdose from a controlled substance,” according to Drew Schulle, a lieutenant with Martindale Fire/ Rescue.
Schulle said he was on break when the storm rolled in. After lightning struck “really close to my home in Martindale,” he grabbed his radio and headed into the station. On the way, he heard a transmission from his Chief Chris Germer.
Germer had already been out on patrol, knowing that when a storm rolls in, many tubers along that stretch of the river instinctively get out of the water long before reaching their destination at Don’s Fish Camp or Texas State Tubes. Many times, he said, those tubers end up walking along Hwy. 80. “We get reports of people missing, and see people getting injuries by trying to walk through brushy and wooded areas to get back to their cars,” he said.
“To check on any misplaced tubers, I drove along Highway 80 and made a stop into Great Gonzo’s Tubes,” which is located upstream of the other two outfitters. “I noticed a large number of tubers, probably 15, in a pasture walking towards the highway on Gonzo’s property,” he said.
Germer was in the process of arranging a ride for them when the dispatch came over the radio from Caldwell County that a person had possible drowned in the river not far away.
He said just as he was receiving that message, a Texas Game Warden pulled up beside him. Together, they went to the water’s edge, learning the patient was just upstream from them. They also learned he begun having a seizure.
As the storm continued to rage, Schulle reached the scene, and, along with two others, donned swiftwater gear. Led through the brush by a Caldwell County deputy, they traveled about two hundred yards upstream to where they found the victim “along the waterline.”
With other personnel standing by and relaying medical information back to command units, Schulle observed the patient having trouble breathing, presumably from drugs, noting he “could not speak.” Schulle was able to get a faint pulse, and had the patient use his hands to inform his rescuers of his age. Schulle said the patient was on his side, but had apparently been face down at some point because there was “mud and debris” in his eyes and mouth.
They kept his airway clear and took him back downstream by kayak to a waiting ambulance, which transported him to Central Texas Medical Center. Germer noted that the ambulance was from AMR Ambulance, a firm hired by the outfitters to be available near the river on weekends and holidays.
“This call was a great example of teamwork,” Germer said. “Under less than ideal conditions, eight different agencies were able to complete this rescue in a timely manner and in a safe way.”
Neither Don’s Fish Camp nor Texas State Tubes responded to a query regarding activities on July 4 and when and whether they stopped putting people on the river because of the weather.
