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Witnesses fault police in drowning Deputy says they were there to recover body By MARK FREEMAN ASHLAND - Two witnesses who tried to save a drowning kayaker Saturday at Emigrant Lake are blaming police and firefighters for what they believe was a poor effort to rescue the man. But police at the scene said Monday that they were not equipped or trained to pull kayaker Bruce Hall out of the lake's muddy depths, and that heroics on police or anyone's part could have added to the death toll - not extracted from it. Witnesses Don Crofton and Doug Francis said Monday that they were appalled that no firefighters or police officers jumped into the water to join about two dozen people searching for Hall 15-20 minutes after the 30-year-old Medford man disappeared in the murky lake about 4:10 p.m. "It was a pretty sad day," said Francis, 29, of Medford, who spent about an hour searching for Hall. "The best way I could describe it is that it was a pretty lame excuse for a rescue." But state marine deputy Wally Ramsay said he and others were facing the recovery of a body, not a rescue, by the time Ramsay arrived. Ramsay said he was worried that Crofton, Francis and the other would-be rescuers were well intentioned but actually were placing themselves at risk of joining Hall as a victim. "We're looking for a body, and that's not worth someone else losing their life," Ramsay said. "The man drowned because he didn't have a life jacket, not because of something someone did or didn't do," he said. A medical examiner Monday ruled Hall's death a drowning, police said. Toxicology tests done on Hall's blood will not be available for about six or eight weeks, Ramsay said. A reputed good swimmer and experienced boater, Hall was struggling to swim after flipping his kayak about 50 feet from shore. Witnesses said he called for help twice before disappearing just moments before Cheryl Crofton reached him. Witnesses telephoned police and paramedics, who were quickly at the scene but did not enter the water, police said. Ramsay said he arrived in a personal watercraft about 15 minutes after Hall disappeared. Hall was not wearing or carrying a life jacket as required by law, Ramsay said. A four-person dive team recovered his body at 7:30 p.m. in 11 feet of water after a 90-minute search. Marine deputies across Oregon are funded by the Oregon State Marine Board specifically for marine safety and law enforcement, said Bill Rydblom, who manages the Marine Board's enforcement efforts. Actual search and rescue efforts are independent of that duty, and few marine deputies are cross-trained and equipped for rescue diving. Crofton said he was amazed Ramsay was not equipped and ready to search beneath the surface - a move Crofton says may have made a difference. "I can't say for sure he'd be alive. Who could say?" Crofton said. "But the effort wasn't there." Ramsay said he expected to end up rescuing one of the untrained, and exhausted, would-be rescuers. Ramsay said it is common to attempt to pin blame on rescuers in such traumatic circumstances. "If they really stand back and look at it, this happened because a guy launched a boat without a life jacket," Ramsay said. "That's the one thing we should learn from this." Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.