A real life saver

By NICK NARIGON

Steve Schultz said he did what anybody else would have done in his situation, but it was the “hand of God” that put him in place to save the lives of two young men.

Schultz, 44, Marengo, was awarded with the 2009 Governor’s Lifesaving Award Friday, Aug. 13, at the Iowa State Fair for saving the capsized boaters last November.

“All I did was locate them, throw them in a boat and warm them up. I was just helping a buddy out,” said Schultz. “But I believe it was the hand of God that pushed me a little bit further than I needed to be.”

Schultz was out duck hunting Nov. 16, 2009, when the incident occurred near the Coralville Reservoir.  An RN in the emergency treatment center at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Schultz said he works weekends and goes hunting on the weekdays. He had a new hunting dog, Sugar Varazs, a Hungarian pointer, that he was training to hunt. Schultz said “Raz” is used to a pattern of three days off and four days of hunting. However, Schultz was sick for a day and Raz was off his schedule. Schultz said his 3-year-old pointer was getting rambunctious, so Schultz decided to take him out.

“He had been cooped up all weekend and his pattern was not there,” Schultz said.

The weather was overcast and cloudy, he said, which is perfect for duck hunting. It had been raining for about a month straight, he said and the water levels at the reservoir were “ungodly.” The water level is usually at about 672 feet, but on that November afternoon, Schultz said the water level was over 700 feet, and most of the access points were under water.

Schultz said he normally puts his boat in at the Swan Lake Road access at Babcock launch. The road was underwater, but he was able to drive his truck through the flooded areas. He dropped off his boat and headed up the river 15 to 20 minutes and found some flooded cornfields.

There had been a decent movement of mallards just before Thanksgiving, Schultz said, and within 15 minutes he and Raz had reached their limit.

They packed up at about 4:30 p.m. to head back, he said. The weather was really picking up, Schultz said, and the rain was coming. The winds were blowing 25 to 30 miles an hour he said, with gusts up to 40 miles per hour. Because of the flooding, the water area had increased to about 10 miles, allowing for the waves to pick up. Schultz said he saw white caps on the reservoir for the first time in a long time.

Luckily, Schultz’ boat was made for such conditions. A few years ago he purchased his Excel Midwest edition mudboat that came with a mud motor. Because of the flat bottom, he said he can speed through water that is as shallow as four inches deep.

On this day, it took him 45 minutes to get back to where he thought he needed to be.

However, because of the flooding, Schultz said he had trouble identifying his usual landmarks. Using the spotlight on his boat, he realized he had missed his docking point by a half to three-quarters of a mile.

He slowed down to make his turn, lulling the motor. That is when he heard the shouting.

Schultz swung his spotlight around, and he saw two heads bobbing in the water. The waves were rolling over them, and Schultz said they would disappear for a few seconds before bobbing up again.

“Can you imagine my amazement at finding two kids in the water?” said Schultz.

The two kids were Kurt Kruger, Sheldon, and Eric Otte, Cedar Falls, both students at the University of Iowa.

Kruger and Otte, and two other college friends, Kevin McCafferty, Chicago, and Wyatt Jans, North Liberty, had also decided to go duck hunting in the reservoir that day. All four hunters had reached their limits and decided to head in for the day.

However, Schultz said their boat wasn’t meant for the conditions. The boys were anchored in a flooded cornfield, and the propeller kept getting wrapped in corn stalks. They were stopped, trying to untangle the motor when a large gust of wind capsized their boat.

The anchor pulled the boat under water, and there was only room for two of them to stay with the boat. None of them had life jackets. McCafferty and Jans stayed, while Kruger and Otte swam for help.

The two swimmers made little progress. They ditched their waders and jackets to keep from being pulled down into the water, which was 15 to 20 feet deep. The water was below 50 degrees and chilling. The boys were soon numb and getting delirious.

They had been in the water for over an hour and Kruger was at the point of exhaustion, clinging to emergent vegetation; his life was in peril. It is believed that if he had been in the water for as little as five more minutes, he might have died.

That is when Schultz miraculously heard their faint cries for help.

He motored over to them and tossed out a ladder for them to climb. However, Schultz said they were too exhausted to even pull themselves into the boat, so Schultz had to drag them in himself.

Kruger began vomiting and convulsing, and they were shivering so hard they could hardly speak any words, said Schultz. He was able to get his heaters started to help warm them up a little.

They were finally able to tell Schultz there were two other stranded hunters with the capsized boat.

“They were a little disoriented, almost delusional. They were in a bad way,” said Schultz. “I didn’t hardly believe what they were saying.”

Schultz said he knew he had to get Kruger and Otte to shore immediately, so he called 911 with his cell phone. He told the dispatcher he had plucked two gentlemen out of the water and there might be two more still out on the reservoir.

By this time, Schultz said his boat had drifted another 200 yards, so he headed straight north across the reservoir. Soon enough, his spotlight hit the bottom of their boat, with McCafferty and Jans still clinging to it.

Schultz hauled in the two of them, who were in better condition than Kruger and Otte. They headed back to the docking area, and Schultz said he could see the lights of the North Liberty Fire Department and Johnson County Ambulance rescue vehicles. The Swisher Fire Department was setting up a rescue launch on the north end from the Amana road.

In fact, one of the boys on the boat, either McCafferty or Jans, had his cell phone available. While he wasn’t able to dial a phone number, the cell phone did allow him to use the recall button, and he was able to call a friend in New York. That friend in turn called Johnson County Rescue.

However, Schultz said the rescue operation was a ways from being launched. The flooded roads made it difficult for the rescue vehicles to reach the launch point, and the inflatable raft they were going to use would not have made it through the flooded cornfields, he said.

“It would have taken them a while,” said Schultz.

With his mud boat, Schultz was able to power through the cornfield and reach the rescue workers.

Kruger and Otte were taken by ambulance to the University Iowa Hospitals and Clinics where they were treated for hypothermia and fully recovered. McCafferty and Jans refused treatment.

Schultz said he doesn’t like to think what would have happened if he hadn’t been there. In fact, he said he recently had nightmares about what could have happened.

But, he said, there is a reason he was there when he need to be.

“All the little scenarios put together, the missed launch, my dog getting antsy, all of these factors allowed this to happen,” Schultz said.

Schultz is still in touch with the families of Otte and Kruger (Otte’s grandparents, Harriett and Melvin Graesser, are from Amana). They made a surprise visit to the E.R. to meet with Schultz and show their appreciation. The two college kids scraped up some money to buy Schultz a gift certificate to Scheel’s.

“That was pretty impressive,” he said. “I know college kids don’t have much money, so that gesture really meant a lot.”

Later on, Schultz found out that one of their mother’s had nominated him for the Governor’s Lifesaving Award.

“I’m not used to all of this attention. I like to stay pretty low,” he said.

Schultz and Kruger have gone on to become good friends after the ordeal. In fact, the two plan to start off the next hunting season together. The early urban goose hunting season starts Sept. 4, and Schultz said he and Kruger have an alfalfa field in Johnson County staked out, on dry land.

Schultz has been an RN with UIHC since 1995, which happens to be the same year the Cedar Rapids native moved to Marengo. He works as an AirCare nurse and in the emergency room.

Schultz said his basic training helped him save Kruger and Otte, but in reality, he said he hopes that anybody else in the same situation would have acted accordingly.

“I had nothing. The only thing I had were the heaters in my boat, my emergency first aid kit and a fast motor that could plow through anything,” Schultz said. “I had that basic training, but your instincts kick in. You get the tunnel vision and you know what needs to be done.”

Tagged as: Lifesaver, Marengo, Steve Schultz