The following has been reposted from a news article that appeared in the Port Clinton News Herald on Wednesday, July 27, 2005

Deputy Jumps In, Pulls Teens to Shore
 

By KRISTINA SMITH
Staff writer

CARROLL TOWNSHIP -- Despite a raging thunderstorm, Ottawa County Sheriff's Deputy Kevin Meek didn't hesitate as he stripped down to his pants and ran into Lake Erie Tuesday.

Throwing off his boots, radio and other equipment, Meek rushed toward two teenagers who were screaming for help and clinging to a log about 75-100 yards from shore at Crane Creek State Park.

As the water reached his chest, he threw a rope to them. They held it tightly as Meek pulled them to land.

"He's the hero," said sheriff's Sgt. Gary Gregg, who was also at the scene. "He did an excellent job. Outstanding."

But to Meek, it was a regular call.

"I was just happy to get home and get dry," he said.

Meek and Gregg responded to a 911 call that came in at 4:04 p.m. from an unidentified person at the state park's beach where the teens, a 15-year-old Ottawa County boy and his cousin, Christopher Wegert, 18, of Monroe, Va., had been swimming, Gregg said. He would not identify the 15-year-old because the boy's parents had not yet been notified.

The pair was fighting rough, 3-foot waves while clinging to the 15-foot-long log, when Gregg and Meek arrived, Gregg

said. The log was about 8-inches in diameter.

"The wind was blowing," Gregg said. "The lightning was striking. It was dark out there when I arrived."

The gusts were pushing the boys east at a fast speed, Gregg said.

"If it weren't for that log, they wouldn't have made it back in," he said.

Gregg ran along the beach while Meek drove his cruiser to the grassy parking area a half-mile east of the beach. Meek stopped at the last solid part of land before miles of marsh began.

"I was hoping they'd keep drifting toward me and paddling," Meek said. "They did a good job of paddling toward me."

Once on shore, Jerusalem Township Emergency Medical Service workers checked them and released them at the scene at 4:23 p.m., Gregg said. They were happy to have avoided a possible disaster, Gregg and Meek said.

"They didn't say a whole lot," Meek said. "They seemed pretty scared."

Sheriff Bob Bratton was thrilled with Meek's and Gregg's efforts in the rescue.

"It just shows their commitment to their work," Bratton said. "They're very dedicated deputies."

Deputy Kevin Meek

The following has been reposted from a news article that appeared in the Sandusky Register on Wednesday, July 28, 2005

Deputy dives in, saves two from storm
Ottawa County's Meek brings two boys to shore from log in storm-tossed Lake Erie.
By SUSANNE CERVENKA
 susannecervenka@sanduskyregister.com
 

JERUSALEM TWP.
 
Ottawa County Sheriff's Deputy Kevin Meek was up to his neck in water, but he wasn't thinking about that.

He wasn't thinking about Tuesday's storm, the lightning and the downpour.

Meek had his mind set on wading into Lake Erie to reach two teenage boys who were stranded on a 15-foot-long log in the lake off Crane Creek State Park.

And now, all Meek's supervisors and co-workers can say is that he's a hero.

"He risked his life and saved these two," Sheriff's Capt. Steve Levorchick said. "I know Kevin and he's going to go as far as he has to help these people."

But for Meek, it was just part of his job.

"It's just all in a day's work," he said. "It's just another day and it's just another call."

The call came in to Ottawa County dispatchers at 4:04 p.m. Tuesday that two boys, aged 15 and 18, were yelling for help.

The boys had been playing on the log off of the park's beach when the storm picked up and the current swept them east, said Sgt. Gary Gregg, who responded to the rescue with Meek.

"Lake Erie is unforgiving. That lake will turn on you," he said. "The waves were just driving the log."

The waves were about 3 feet high and the current was swift, said Gregg, who spotted the boys first about 75 to 100 yards off land.

"I couldn't run and keep up with them on land," he said.

Gregg tried to follow the boys, but ran into thick trees along the shore and had to go back inland to get around. He told Meek to go further east along the shoreline to cut the boys off.

When Meek spotted the boys, he didn't hesitate to go in the water, Gregg said.

"He said, 'I see them,'" Gregg said. "His next words were, 'I'm going in.'"

Gregg's response was to tell Meek only to go in as far as he could wade.

Meek stripped off his gun belt, shirt, vest and boots and went into the water with a rope rescue bag.

With no equipment other than the rescue bag, Meek had no way to stay in contact with dispatchers or Gregg.

"That's why we were so worried about him," Levorchick said. "For a while, no one saw Deputy Meek."

After two unsuccessful tosses, Meek heaved the bag again to the boys, who grabbed on, and pulled them in.

The standard for water rescues is to not put another person in the water -- and in harm's way -- unless it's necessary.

"Kevin put his life in danger," Levorchick said. "He could have waited for a rescue boat. He could have waited for a diver."

Meek said it was his instinct that told him to jump in the water and save the boys.

"It just seemed like the thing to do," he said. "If someone didn't get to them quickly, there was no telling where they'd end up."

Deputy Kevin Meek

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 Posted July 27, 2005