SEQUIM — A man rescued his young grandson from the cold waters of Dungeness Bay and was in turn aided by a joint effort of the Coast Guard and Clallam County Sheriff’s Office.
Elden Ross, a 74-year-old Sequim resident, was recuperating at home Sunday after being immersed in the 53-degree water of Dungeness Bay for more than 90 minutes Saturday, and the child was unhurt, said Detective Sgt. Lyman Moores, search and rescue team coordinator for the Sheriff’s Office.
Ross was credited with saving his 6-year-old grandson’s life and making the right decisions to save his own life during a long, cold ordeal, Moores said.
The grandson was not identified.
Ross took the boy kayaking in the family’s one-person kayak on Dungeness Bay near his Jamestown Beach-area home while the boy’s mother, Jenny Smith, of Renton and her mother took a trip to town, Moores said.
Moores said the kayak had a large storage compartment the right size for the boy, where he was seated and given a paddle for the trip.
Both were wearing life jackets, which were one of the key factors in their being able to survive the capsizing, he said.
According the National Weather Service, the bay had relatively calm water Saturday with wave heights of less than 1-foot.
Then between 11:15 a.m. and 11:45 a.m., the kayak flipped.
“The current caught the kayak just right,” Moores said.
Ross was able to right the kayak, but it was partially filled with water, he said.
There was enough buoyancy for Ross to get his grandson back into the kayak, but he could not get back in himself, Ross told the Sheriff’s Office.
“The boy would not have survived in the [cold] water,” Moores said.
He said Ross told his grandson to hold the paddle up high for visibility from shore as he tried to swim the kayak back to shore, but the pair became separated and the boy was not able to paddle back to shore — against the current — on his own.
Smith and her mother returned home and noticed the kayak on the water, but with only one person in it.
She immediately got in another family kayak to go out, where she found her son but could not locate her father, Moores said.
The child was wet, cold and shaken by his experience, but was not injured and did not require medical assistance, he said.
At 12:20 p.m. Smith called 9-1-1 to report her father missing.
The Clallam County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue responded, along with a Sheriff’s marine patrol and coordinated efforts to locate the missing father.
The Coast Guard was notified, and a MH-65 helicopter crew from the Air Station/Sector Field Office Port Angeles was dispatched to assist in the search.
Using GPS coordinates and cell phone communication from Jamestown Beach, the Search and Rescue coordinator was able to provide the Coast Guard marine boat with the last known location of the kayaker.
Due to the shallow waters, the Coast Guard boat’s search capabilities were limited and was unable to reach the kayaker.
At approximately 1:15 p.m. the Coast Guard helicopter located Ross, and a rescue swimmer helped to hoist him into the helicopter.
He was flown to Olympic Medical Center, where he was treated for hypothermia and spent the night in intensive care before being released Sunday, Moores said.
The amount of time Ross spent in the water and survived was remarkable and was due largely to his personal experience and knowledge of water survival, he said.
Moores said Ross had been a diver for more than 30 years.
“He knew enough to float and remain still, and not flail his limbs around,” he said.
This is the second kayak incident in Dungeness Bay in four months.
Two people died and another was hospitalized in serious condition after a group kayak trip was caught by high winds and waves in April.
Everyone who participates in outdoor activities should be prepared for the worst-case scenario, Moores said.
Outdoor enthusiasts should remember to be aware of their surroundings and take proper precautions to ensure they have a safe outdoor experience, he said.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
