Good samaritans in the right place at the right time at Whitefish Dunes State Park may have helped emergency personnel save the lives of two men.
Just after 3 p.m. on Saturday, Door County Emergency Services, Door County Sheriff’s Department, Sturgeon Bay Fire Department, Jacksonport Fire Department, and Sevastopol Emergency Responders were notified of a possible young girl in the water at Whitefish Dunes State Park that may have been pulled under due to the riptide. The Sturgeon Bay Fire Department called in assistance from the Jacksonport Fire Department, but along the way, responding emergency personnel was notified that an individual was out of the water and that CPR may have been used. Upon arrival, emergency personnel discovered a teenage man and an adult man on the rocky shores of the north end of the beach being tended to by Good Samaritans. According to Door County EMS Director Aaron LeClair, the men were alert and oriented, and no CPR was performed by emergency personnel. LeClair notes that at the time of the incident, the National Weather Service did issue a beach hazard statement for the shores of Lake Michigan.
The two men were transported to Door County Medical Center after being checked out by emergency personnel on-site for further evaluation and treatment. LeClair was happy with the outcome and proud of the response to the incident, which required no emergency personnel to enter the water as the two men could get back to shore on their own.
ADDED 3:55 P.M.
After posting this story, we heard from one of the good Samaritans, who asked for her and her family to remain anonymous. She detailed the events that led up to the arrival of the Door County Emergency Personnel. She, her fiancé, and his brothers were there from Appleton to celebrate her son’s 10th birthday. They were hanging out on the beach when they saw two kids in the water. They watched as they saw the kids’ father spring into the water after their kids, struggling in the rough waters.
According to her account, the dad was able to push a young girl toward that good Samaritan’s fiancé, who pulled her onto the shore. The father went back out into the water and grabbed his teenage son. When he was pulled ashore, the teenage son was purple in the face and not breathing. The good Samaritans’ fiancé was able to revive the teenage son with a combination of pounding on his back and chest compressions.
The father, who pulled his kids ashore, had to be pulled onto the beach himself by one of the Samaritan’s brothers. The Samaritans kept the family company and engaged until emergency personnel arrived. Reflecting on her experience, the Samaritan said her son commented how it was a bad birthday when instead, she looked on the bright side and said they were chosen to be on the beach that day to help save a life.
