Bobcat
06-15-2013, 10:07 AM
Key Colony officer saves trio from sinking boat
By RYAN McCARTHY
rmccarthy@keynoter.com
Posted - Saturday, June 15, 2013 06:00 AM EDT
Courtesy LEONA BLACKBURN
Starr, S.C., resident Leona Blackburn shot this photo Sunday morning of the 22-foot pontoon boat from which she and two others were rescued by Key Colony Beach officer Chuck Griffith. Blackburn said the engine gave out unexpectedly and the boat began sinking.
Key Colony Beach police officer Chuck Griffith helped save the life of three Keys visitors -- including a paraplegic man -- last Sunday after their pontoon boat took on water in rough seas off Coco Plum.
"I got a call from dispatch that a vessel was going down and had three people on board. All I knew about their location is that they could see the high-rise on Coco Plum, so that gave me an idea where to look," Griffith said, referring to the Bonefish Towers apartment building.
Griffith said he spotted the vessel "about two miles offshore, straight out of Coco Plum Channel." He said the boat was easy to spot because not many others were braving the 3- to 5-foot seas.
Randy Elkins, 62, who's paralyzed from the chest down, was on board his 22-foot deck boat with care-giver Leona Blackburn, 64, and friend Stan Cartier, 48, for a short time Sunday morning when Blackburn said the engine gave out on them. The trio is from Starr, S.C.
"It got rougher after we got out there. We were going along and the motor quit on us," she said. "We were going to hopefully do some fishing before we left Florida."
Shortly thereafter, the engine and left side of the boat were underwater. Blackburn said she dialed 911 as the trio put on life jackets and waited for help to arrive.
According to Monroe County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Becky Herrin, Blackburn's call was received at 10:49 a.m.
"The police got to us real quick. I don't think [it was] 15 minutes from the time I placed the call 'til we were on the police boat," she said.
Blackburn said Griffith did well to lift Elkins, who's paralyzed from the chest down, onto his boat.
"He knew exactly what to do to get a paraplegic off that boat and got him off without any real problems. He was real quick to respond," Blackburn said.
Griffith, a Florida state trooper of 24 years before joining the Key Colony force, said he ran the group into the Key Colony Beach Marina, where an ambulance met them. He said they were worked up after the incident but "other than that, they were in pretty good shape."
Blackburn said she and Elkins are back in Starr, S.C., but spend a good deal of time in the Keys. Elkins owns a houseboat on Coco Plum.
The pontoon boat was brought to shore by SeaTow and is still in the Keys
76065
By RYAN McCARTHY
rmccarthy@keynoter.com
Posted - Saturday, June 15, 2013 06:00 AM EDT
Courtesy LEONA BLACKBURN
Starr, S.C., resident Leona Blackburn shot this photo Sunday morning of the 22-foot pontoon boat from which she and two others were rescued by Key Colony Beach officer Chuck Griffith. Blackburn said the engine gave out unexpectedly and the boat began sinking.
Key Colony Beach police officer Chuck Griffith helped save the life of three Keys visitors -- including a paraplegic man -- last Sunday after their pontoon boat took on water in rough seas off Coco Plum.
"I got a call from dispatch that a vessel was going down and had three people on board. All I knew about their location is that they could see the high-rise on Coco Plum, so that gave me an idea where to look," Griffith said, referring to the Bonefish Towers apartment building.
Griffith said he spotted the vessel "about two miles offshore, straight out of Coco Plum Channel." He said the boat was easy to spot because not many others were braving the 3- to 5-foot seas.
Randy Elkins, 62, who's paralyzed from the chest down, was on board his 22-foot deck boat with care-giver Leona Blackburn, 64, and friend Stan Cartier, 48, for a short time Sunday morning when Blackburn said the engine gave out on them. The trio is from Starr, S.C.
"It got rougher after we got out there. We were going along and the motor quit on us," she said. "We were going to hopefully do some fishing before we left Florida."
Shortly thereafter, the engine and left side of the boat were underwater. Blackburn said she dialed 911 as the trio put on life jackets and waited for help to arrive.
According to Monroe County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Becky Herrin, Blackburn's call was received at 10:49 a.m.
"The police got to us real quick. I don't think [it was] 15 minutes from the time I placed the call 'til we were on the police boat," she said.
Blackburn said Griffith did well to lift Elkins, who's paralyzed from the chest down, onto his boat.
"He knew exactly what to do to get a paraplegic off that boat and got him off without any real problems. He was real quick to respond," Blackburn said.
Griffith, a Florida state trooper of 24 years before joining the Key Colony force, said he ran the group into the Key Colony Beach Marina, where an ambulance met them. He said they were worked up after the incident but "other than that, they were in pretty good shape."
Blackburn said she and Elkins are back in Starr, S.C., but spend a good deal of time in the Keys. Elkins owns a houseboat on Coco Plum.
The pontoon boat was brought to shore by SeaTow and is still in the Keys
76065