BOY REVIVED AFTER SCARE UNDER WATER

WAPPAPELLO -- An 11-year-old Bloomfield boy was rescued Saturday afternoon after spending at least eight minutes under water at Eagle Point.

According to Wayne County Sheriff's Deputy Dean Finch, Donald Latham of Bloomfield was swimming with his family near Eagle Point when he went under in about 15 to 18 feet of water. Apparently, Latham and a companion entered the lake from some nearby rocks and were swimming.

"He went under, and the other boy tried to grab him but he went under too," Finch said.

The unidentified companion was able to break free from Latham's grip and call for help.

Greg Gromm of St. Louis, a diver for the Silver Bullet Boat Races rescue boat, nearby for the dragboat races, was summoned. Finch said Gromm went down once and came up with Latham in his arms. Paramedics from AMI Lucy Lee Hospital administered CPR and revived the boy at the scene, then rushed him to the hospital. From there he was taken to Children's Hospital in St. Louis.

Finch said the call went out at 4:20 p.m. and Latham was brought out of the water at 4:28. It seemed at first that Latham had drowned, but revival efforts were successful.

"When he left the hospital he had a heartbeat, a pulse, was getting his blood pressure back and was breathing on his own," Finch said. "He's a very, very lucky boy. From what I understand he has a very good chance of making it."

Finch said that quick action by Gromm, by Don Carnahan and Junior Crafton of the Missouri State Water Patrol, and the paramedics saved Latham's life.

"That diver recovered the boy in less than two minutes from the time he got there," Finch said. "It was very, very quick. He went down, came up with the boy in his arms, and said `I need some help here.'

"He's one of a kind. All of those people involved, we at the Wayne County Sheriff's Department want to praise them to the highest."