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In great sadness, I post this.
taken from Great Falls Tribune.com
Thursday, May 30, 2002
Tribal officer's body found
By KAREN IVANOVA
Tribune Regional Editor
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ROCKY BOY AGENCY -- Divers pulled the body of a Rocky Boy's police officer who drowned in the line of duty from Bonneau Reservoir at 11 a.m. Wednesday.
Robert Taylor, 43, died on Memorial Day trying to rescue a fisherman whose boat capsized on the lake. Lewis and Clark County Search and Rescue divers found Taylor's body in the area where he slipped under as he tried to swim to the overturned boat, said Sgt. Rick Gardipee with tribal law enforcement. The Rocky Boy's Reservation is 15 miles south of Havre.
The body was sent to Adams Funeral Home in Malta. Funeral arrangements are pending.
A team of substitute officers from the Bureau of Indian Affairs is taking over police work on the reservation for the next few days to relieve the exhausted tribal force.
Some officers stayed overnight at the reservoir Monday and Tuesday, sleeping in their cars or in a tent.
"Right now, everybody is pretty wore out," Gardipee said. Search and Rescue teams from Hill and Chouteau counties also participated.
"It's just sort of a loss to each of us, because we sometimes think about how close we are to making that decision," Hill County Sheriff Greg Szudera said. "He did it without too much hesitation -- trying to save someone else. That really was a sign to all of us of his dedication to helping people. What an example -- giving one's life in the line of duty."
Tribal Investigator Stan Gardipee said Taylor sank roughly 10 to 15 feet from the overturned boat. The water was 18 feet deep.
A witness told him Taylor went under, came up again and then sank.
"I'd say he got exhausted or maybe cramps," he said. "The water was real cold."
One of the two fishermen in the boat, Kim "Junior" Norquay, swam to shore, Stan Gardipee said. He was misidentified in a story that ran in the Tribune Wednesday. The other man, Ira Moreno, struggled to hang onto the boat.
Bruce Denny, a former EMT, said he heard the call for help on his police scanner and raced to the lake. He floated to the boat on a tire.
Denny said he was pushing the boat toward shore when his legs cramped.
Another man, William Parker, swam out with a rope and tires. Parker and Denny transferred Moreno onto the tires and Mike Morsette pulled him in from the shore.
A boat pulled in Denny, who said he could hardly hang on to his tire.
"I couldn't kick or paddle anymore from the cold," he said.
Both Denny and Moreno were treated for hypothermia at Northern Montana Hospital and released.
Denny's nephew, Tribal Fish and Game Warden Waylon Denny, also attempted to swim to the boat, but turned back after he nearly went under.
Taylor's family and friends struggled to comprehend his death Wednesday.
Willy Strong, a police officer from the Red Lake Indian Reservation in Minnesota, said he and Taylor considered themselves brothers, although they weren't related.
Strong drove to Rocky Boy's as soon as he heard the news.
"I'm wracking my brain trying to cope with it," he said.
Originally from the Manitoba Sioux Valley Reserve in Canada, Taylor sang with the well-known Canadian drum group High Noon, Strong said.
"When he wasn't working, it was powwow and family," he said. "He was a family man."
Taylor liked to treat his friends to surprise visits.
"He would never telephone me, just knock on my door," Strong said. "It's a hard loss."
Outgoing and good-humored, Taylor was dedicated to his job, Strong added.
"He was determined to excel at whatever he was doing," he said.
taken from Great Falls Tribune.com
Thursday, May 30, 2002
Tribal officer's body found
By KAREN IVANOVA
Tribune Regional Editor
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ROCKY BOY AGENCY -- Divers pulled the body of a Rocky Boy's police officer who drowned in the line of duty from Bonneau Reservoir at 11 a.m. Wednesday.
Robert Taylor, 43, died on Memorial Day trying to rescue a fisherman whose boat capsized on the lake. Lewis and Clark County Search and Rescue divers found Taylor's body in the area where he slipped under as he tried to swim to the overturned boat, said Sgt. Rick Gardipee with tribal law enforcement. The Rocky Boy's Reservation is 15 miles south of Havre.
The body was sent to Adams Funeral Home in Malta. Funeral arrangements are pending.
A team of substitute officers from the Bureau of Indian Affairs is taking over police work on the reservation for the next few days to relieve the exhausted tribal force.
Some officers stayed overnight at the reservoir Monday and Tuesday, sleeping in their cars or in a tent.
"Right now, everybody is pretty wore out," Gardipee said. Search and Rescue teams from Hill and Chouteau counties also participated.
"It's just sort of a loss to each of us, because we sometimes think about how close we are to making that decision," Hill County Sheriff Greg Szudera said. "He did it without too much hesitation -- trying to save someone else. That really was a sign to all of us of his dedication to helping people. What an example -- giving one's life in the line of duty."
Tribal Investigator Stan Gardipee said Taylor sank roughly 10 to 15 feet from the overturned boat. The water was 18 feet deep.
A witness told him Taylor went under, came up again and then sank.
"I'd say he got exhausted or maybe cramps," he said. "The water was real cold."
One of the two fishermen in the boat, Kim "Junior" Norquay, swam to shore, Stan Gardipee said. He was misidentified in a story that ran in the Tribune Wednesday. The other man, Ira Moreno, struggled to hang onto the boat.
Bruce Denny, a former EMT, said he heard the call for help on his police scanner and raced to the lake. He floated to the boat on a tire.
Denny said he was pushing the boat toward shore when his legs cramped.
Another man, William Parker, swam out with a rope and tires. Parker and Denny transferred Moreno onto the tires and Mike Morsette pulled him in from the shore.
A boat pulled in Denny, who said he could hardly hang on to his tire.
"I couldn't kick or paddle anymore from the cold," he said.
Both Denny and Moreno were treated for hypothermia at Northern Montana Hospital and released.
Denny's nephew, Tribal Fish and Game Warden Waylon Denny, also attempted to swim to the boat, but turned back after he nearly went under.
Taylor's family and friends struggled to comprehend his death Wednesday.
Willy Strong, a police officer from the Red Lake Indian Reservation in Minnesota, said he and Taylor considered themselves brothers, although they weren't related.
Strong drove to Rocky Boy's as soon as he heard the news.
"I'm wracking my brain trying to cope with it," he said.
Originally from the Manitoba Sioux Valley Reserve in Canada, Taylor sang with the well-known Canadian drum group High Noon, Strong said.
"When he wasn't working, it was powwow and family," he said. "He was a family man."
Taylor liked to treat his friends to surprise visits.
"He would never telephone me, just knock on my door," Strong said. "It's a hard loss."
Outgoing and good-humored, Taylor was dedicated to his job, Strong added.
"He was determined to excel at whatever he was doing," he said.
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