Students help in Griffy Lake rescue

Sunny skies and warm weather set the scene for an excellent day of canoeing Saturday. But a trip down Griffy Lake turned out to be anything but ordinary for freshmen Mike Miller and Derek Hershberger.\nThe two roommates who set out to canoe were forced back to shore when Griffy Lake waters were still partially iced over. As they returned to shore around 3 p.m., they were met by police cars, firetrucks and ambulances responding to a call of two Bloomington residents who fell into the icy water. \nWhile on the north side of the lake, David Hiestand, 23, and Charles Logdson, 32, spotted a deer that had fallen into the water and attempted to rescue it. During their rescue attempt, Hiestand and Logdson soon became trapped in the waters themselves.\n"We were getting out of the lake because we couldn't canoe further ourselves when we noticed some cop cars and ambulances," Miller said. "They told us about the situation, and we lent them our canoe."\nAfter lending police their canoe, Miller and Hershberger helped the police down to the shore and into the water to attend to the stranded men.\n"Then we just ran through the woods a little over a mile or so to try and help out as much as we could," Hershberger said.\nOfficers Chris Scott and Joe Crider of the Bloomington Police Department, who responded to the police call, reached the stranded men after canoeing for around 20 minutes. \nOfficer David Winburn of the IU Police Department was one of the first to arrive on the scene.\n"The officers reached within 200 yards but then had to break through a considerable amount of ice before they could reach (the victims)," Winburn said.\nAfter police broke through the ice and the victims were reached, officers used the canoe to bring the men to the closest shore.\n"For the officers, the hardest part was the time element," said Sgt. Alan Pointer of the BPD. "First, they had to paddle down the lake for about 20 to 25 minutes and break through all of the ice. They also tied ropes around the two men so they could grab hold of the canoe and then paddle about another 10 to 15 minutes to get them to shore."\nMiller and Hershberger stood by waiting to help and give any needed assistance.\n"We knew they just had to get the guys out of the water," Miller said. "It looked like a bad situation."\nMiller and Hershberger helped police officers when the two men were finally taken out of the water.\n"We gave them our shirts when they came out of the water," said Hershberger. "They were in shock, babbling and blue, (and) they looked like they might be in bad shape. We helped the guys out of the water and assisted the cops in getting them through the woods to a truck, which drove us to the ambulance to get them checked out."\nBloomington Mayor Mark Kruzan, who was on the scene, thanked Miller and Hershberger for their assistance in the situation.\nMiller and Hershberger remained humble about the experience, insisting they were just around to help.\nMiller credited the BPD officers for all of their hard work.\n"We're not heroes," he said. "I hate that word. Crider and Scott were the guys who did everything. We were just there to lend them a hand and a canoe."\n-- Contact staff writer Mallory Simon at mgsimon@indiana.edu.