Trending
ESCANABA -- The Michigan State Police recently honored two Delta County residents and several visitors to the area with the Distinguished Citizen's Award for helping to rescue three people whose boat had capsized.
The rescue occurred on May 29, 2021. Trooper Josiah Povich of the Gladstone Post was dispatched after a report of a capsized boat with multiple victims in the water on Little Bay de Noc near the Kipling Boat Launch. Trooper Povich requested the help of two citizens at the scene, Keith Soderman and Trevor Palmer, to launch their boat in a very short period of time in an attempt to rescue the victims. Both Palmer and Soderman are from Delta County and were in the area during this incident.
Upon arrival, two of the three victims had already been rescued by two other boaters. The first two victims had been rescued by John and Roy Hammond. The Hammonds are from the New Berlin and Ixonia Wisconsin area and were in the area boating. The third victim, who was still in the water, was located by a second boat operated by Kenneth Allen and Nikki Kluge. Allen and Kluge are from the McHenry, Illinois area and were also in the area boating. Allen and Kluge attempted to get the victim out of the water but had difficulty pulling him onto the boat.
Trooper Povich along with Trevor Palmer, were able to throw a rope line to the victim and eventually pull him to safety. All three victims were returned to shore and treated by EMS on the scene. The three victims were cleared and released a short time later with no significant injuries.
"If it were not for the quick actions of Tpr. Povich and the citizens who assisted with this incident, loss of life would have been imminent. The Michigan State Police is proud to present Trevor Palmer, Keith Soderman, John Hammond, Roy Hammond, Nicole Kluge, and Kenneth Allen with the Distinguished Citizen's Award," Michigan State Police officials said.