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Park ranger honored for water rescue at Shelby Farms lake
By Michael Lollar
Saturday, June 12, 2010
In four years as a park ranger, Matthew Presley's rescues had been limited to turtles and ducks that wander onto the narrow roadways at Shelby Farms.
That was until the start of Memorial Day weekend when he was picking up trash and patrolling near the edge of Pine Lake. Presley, 24, had to tell a couple of young swimmers near the water's edge that swimming is not allowed in the park's 13 lakes.
Suddenly, a thrashing near the middle of the lake was accompanied by the shouts of a woman. "He's drowning," the woman yelled, pointing to the commotion in the 22-foot-deep water. Presley yanked off his boots and dived into the murky water.
He swam more than 100 yards to rescue a 16-year-old boy who struggled at first, then responded when Presley issued instructions he learned from a Red Cross water rescue course.
"Just float on your back. Don't kick," he told the boy.
When they reached shore, Presley's fellow ranger, Drew Balton, already had summoned an ambulance.
Presley said the rescued boy also was greeted on shore by his grateful father. The teenager and two friends had stripped to their shorts for the swim. As he lay on his side spitting up water before transport to a hospital, the rescued swimmer didn't realize how lucky he was.
"I didn't see the snakes until we were back on shore," says Presley. One of the reasons no-swimming signs are posted at the park's lakes is that Shelby Farms is teeming with native animal species, including water moccasins.
At the park conservancy, communications manager Jen Andrews told Presley his quick-thinking water rescue was especially brave. "You knew the water moccasins were in there."
The park board awarded him and Balton plaques this week, honoring them as heroes, while the Shelby County Commission cited Presley Monday for bravery for saving the life of the teen.
Presley, who said he hasn't been able to contact the teenager since the rescue, said that, like the teenager, he didn't stop to think about poisonous snakes when he dived into Pine Lake. "The only thing I was concerned about was getting in there and getting him out."
-- Michael Lollar: 529-2793