Riverways rangers honored in D.C. for swift-water flood rescues

As rangers with the Ozark National Scenic Riverways helped a family of five into their boat during a historic Current River flood, the 40-foot water level and rough conditions were enough to scare even those who had grown up on the waterway.

Joshua Gibbs, Lindel Gregory, Patrick Jackson and Daniel Newberry conducted more than 30 of these swift-water rescues in April 2017.

Rescues are a weekly part of their jobs in the summertime, said Gregory, now chief ranger, but this event was different. The frightened faces of friends, neighbors and family members had replaced those of strangers and visitors.

The men were honored July 4 in Washington, D.C. with the highest recognition given by the U.S. Department of Interior, the Valor Award.

The awards were presented by Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke for the demonstration of unusual courage while saving the life of another, in the face of danger and a high degree of personal risk.

�Even though it�s an honor to receive something like this, it�s humbling to see the work everybody else put into that same event,� Gregory said. �We�re just a small part of the response that went on. There are so many others � the fire department, the troopers, deputies, everybody else that was just out there doing the same thing we were doing, and the private citizens that helped.�

Areas in and around the Riverways received more than 15 inches of rain April 29 and 30, 2017. The Current River crested at 39 feet, 10 feet higher than the previous record set in 1904.

The Carter County Sheriff�s Department requested assistance at 5:30 p.m. April 29 with swift-water rescues, according to a National Park Service news release. Also responding to the event were the Van Buren Volunteer Fire Department, Missouri Department of Conservation and Missouri State Highway Patrol, as well as other local citizens.

�I�ve worked hurricanes and major floods in other parts of the country, where they were well-funded counties, with all the equipment in the world, but I�ve never seen any place that works as well together as it did right here,� Gregory said.

Gibbs, Gregory, Jackson and Newberry waded through waist-deep waters, faced live electricity lines in the waters and leaking propane tanks, to retrieve people stranded in their homes and bring them to safety, the NPS reported.

�We are extremely proud of rangers Joshua Gibbs, Lindel Gregory, Patrick Jackson and Daniel Newberry for the actions they took leading to this well-deserved recognition for helping our neighbors in the Van Buren community, but also for what they do every day to protect park visitors and resources,� Riverways superintendent Larry Johnson said.

The rangers and their families traveled to D.C. for a special Independence Day ceremony, where the men were presented with certificates and personalized Valor coins, engraved with their names.

The ceremony was held at the Department of Interior headquarters.

One of the advantages the team had in this rescue, Gregory said, was the local knowledge of Gibbs, Jackson and Newberry. All three graduated from Van Buren High School and grew up in the area, he said.

Gibbs, Jackson and Newberry were also cut off from their own families during the flood, Gregory said, because the road to their homes was flooded.

The April 2017 events are being used now to help improve disaster response in Carter County.

Work is being done to train members of the fire department in swift-water rescue and address communication problems seen during the flood, Gregory said.

�We definitely, I think, are improving our response,� he said.