Outdoor Recreation volunteers make rescue on the Missouri

  • Published
  • By Jessica Galloway
  • 341st Missile Wing Public Affairs summer intern
MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. --  While wrapping up a family outing on Saturday, June 25, Capt. Stacey Vierra, 341st Medical Group physician assistant, and her husband, Paul Finco, came to the rescue of a fellow rafter in distress near the Pelican Point fishing access point along the Missouri River, south of Great Falls.

As Mr. Finco and Captain Vierra were beaching their raft, another group nearby was doing the same. A man waded out to retrieve his boat, but was soon pulled into deeper water when he grabbed the bow line. Despite pleas to return from the other members of his group, the man replied that he had hold of the rope and was a good swimmer. He was not wearing a life jacket.

The boat continued into the main river current and Mr. Finco shouted at the man to see if he needed assistance. He responded in a similar way he had to the members of his own group, but soon reached the strong main current and found himself struggling to keep his head out of the water. After hearing his cry for help, Mr. Finco was able to maneuver his boat into position to rescue the man and quickly pulled him into the raft.

Both Captain Vierra and Mr. Finco were convinced the man would not have lasted much longer against the swift Missouri River currents and were glad that they were in a position to help. Captain Vierra credited the ODR raft guide training that she and Mr. Finco had received, as well as the hours volunteering on ODR whitewater trips, as the source of their knowledge and skill to make a difference in a critical situation.

Outdoor Adventure Programmer Jim Beisel was glad to hear that Mr. Finco and Captain Vierra were nearby and able to help. When asked about what the guide training includes, he stated that volunteers, "...run through seven and a half hours of class training and during the course of that we cover everything from water features to river safety." In addition, there are four days of on-river training, which Mr. Beisel says, "gives everyone a lot more confidence and experience," by providing hands-on applications to the information and skills learned in the classroom.

In addition to the guide training required for the rafting volunteers, ODR also offers an Introduction to River Rescue course which is open to anyone and offered every spring.

"I encourage people to do that too, especially if they're going to be on the river frequently, whether fishing, rafting, canoeing, whatever," Mr. Beisel said. "You never know when you're going to come across someone that needs help."