Prison inmates on a ten man park maintenace detail lept into action when they heard screams coming from nearby Salmon creek on Thursday. Three boys, brothers aged 8, 10 and 16, had been floating downstream when their kayak capsized, plunging them into the frigid water, says Fire District 6 Fire Chief Jerry Green
Though the eldest boy was able to swim to shore, the two younger brothers required further assistance in the form of 37 year old inmate Nelson Pettis who risked his saftey jumping into the strong current, estimated to have been moving at 25 to 30 miles per hour according to Fire District 6 paramedic Joseph Killian.
Nelson was able to float downstream to the boys and help them over to a pile of floating debris until a rescue team could arrive. Pettis was assisted in the save by 29 year old fellow Larch Corrections Center inmate Larry Bohn, who jumped back into the water after making sure the older boy was safe. While they waited for help, both men removed their shirts, wringing them out and wrapping them around the boys in an effort to warm them.
On shore, according to The Columbian, 28 year old inmate Jon Fowler waited for the rescue team, assisting them with the inflation of their rescue boat once they had arrived and even carrying the ten year old boy to the ambulance once he'd been fished out of the water.
The three boys, The Columbian reports, were treated for hypothermia at Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center. Nelson Pettis and Larry Bohn also received treatment at PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center and were later released back to the Larch Corrections Center, which is a minimum-security prison for nonviolent criminals.
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