Sheriff Dave Burright presented awards to Joseph Stutzer and his accomplice in saving the life of a Lebanon man who fell into Green Peter Lake Sept. 21.
Stutzer, a Corps of Engineers electrician from Sweet Home, walks during his lunch break. While walking on Green Peter Dam, he noticed a backpack floating in the water. He thought that looked suspicious, and by the time he got to the end of the dam, he could see 83-year-old Lloyd Randall clawing at the bank, near Billings Point, a popular fishing hole on the south side of Green Peter Lake.
Stutzer said he ran down the steep embankment, struggling to keep his footing because of crumbling rock.
“I got within a foot of the water and asked the man for his hand,” Stutzer said. “I got hold of his wrist. He was completely exhausted.”
While struggling to pull Randall from the water, Leo Billman of Albany was driving across the dam. Billman assisted helped Stutzer pull Randall along the embankment where they were able to pull him out of the water.
Randall was placed in a stretcher and yarded out, Stutzer said. Randall’s body temperature had dropped to 93 degrees while he was in the lake.
Sheriffs can nominate individuals in their county for the Life Saving Award each year through the Oregon State Sheriff’s Association.
Randall had gone fishing for his 83rd birthday, Sheriff Burright said. He was sitting on a stool. When he reached down, he tumbled into the lake.
“Someone was looking out for him that day,” Sheriff Burright said. “If Joseph and Leo hadn’t come by, we’d have been calling the dive team.”
Other Corps employees assisting included John Gross, Claud Leinbach, Gene Fief, Bill Smith, Tom Bradshaw and Dick and Greg Barrowcliff.