Kent police officer Jim Ennemoser used quick thinking to harness the power of a raging river and save a life.
Ennemoser, 41, was on patrol a few blocks away from Tannery Park early Saturday evening when he heard a call over the scanner about a male possibly drowning in the Cuyahoga River.
The K-9 officer rushed to the park and grabbed a harness with a sturdy 30-foot lead that he uses for his police dog, Aiko, who remained obediently in the car.
Ennemoser followed the screams for help to the riverside, where he saw a 16-year-old boy sinking under the water about 20 feet off the shore.
The teen and a group of friends had waded into the water at the park to cool off shortly before 8 p.m. when a strong current pulled him down the river.
"The water flows really fast," Ennemoser said. "I don't think people realize how fast the current is."
The officer immediately threw the lead into the water, waited for the boy to grab it and then pulled him safely to dry land.
"He was spitting out water and gasping for air," Ennemoser said.
Kent Fire Department paramedics examined the teen at the scene before releasing him to an adult guardian, according to authorities.
Ennemoser also helped pull out another teen who had jumped into the river to help his friend, as well as a woman who tried to assist with the rescue.
"She left before any of the officers could get her name," Ennemoser said. "We'd like to talk to her so we could thank her."
The rescue was the second in a 24-hour span for Ennemoser, a 14-year veteran of the Kent Police Department.
Early Saturday, Ennemoser and fellow police officer Dominic Poe were investigating a car parked in the road north of the Crain Avenue bridge.
Suddenly, they heard private officers from the CSX police department yelling that a man who had been trespassing on railroad property jumped into the river and was struggling.
Ennemoser and Poe went to the shore and pulled out the man, who was hanging onto concrete.
The man was turned over to the CSX police, a Kent dispatcher said Sunday. His name wasn't released.
Ennemoser said he had never been involved in a water rescue before his two recent shifts.
"It was pretty busy, I've got to say," he said.
Kent Mayor Jerry Fiala said Ennemoser should be recognized for his valiant efforts.
"He deserves all the credit in the world," Fiala said.
The Kent rescues are the latest in a series of recent drownings and near-drownings in the Cuyahoga River.
Last week, the swollen river claimed two lives in Summit County.
Dianna Dyak, 46, of Cuyahoga Falls, died Wednesday after falling into the river at Riverfront Park in Cuyahoga Falls.
Two days earlier, Hilda Iris Colon Saldana, 50, of Akron, was swept away after wading into the water with a group of friends and relatives about 3 a.m. at Cascade Valley Metro Park. Her body had not been recovered as of Sunday, according to the Akron Fire Department.
Officials with the Ohio Division of Watercraft have said area water sources are overflowing after rainfall saturated the region this spring.
Last month, the Akron area saw 7.25 inches of rain, making it the seventh-wettest May on record, according to the National Weather Service. The first four months of 2011 were the third-wettest ever, with 22.7 inches of precipitation.
As a result, swollen, moving waters like the Cuyahoga River have stronger, dangerous currents.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
