On February 3, 2009, I received a call at my home from Officer 1 who reported to me that he was goose hunting on Turtle Creek Reservoir.  He further stated that he was in need of my assistance with my patrol boat because there was an overturned boat on the lake and that there were several people in the water.  While I was responding to the scene to assist Officer 1, he and Officer 2 were able to rescue one of the occupants of the overturned boat.  This victim was one Victim 1.  This person was treated at the scene for mild hypothermia, and transported to a local hospital.  

		When I arrived at the reservoir and was preparing my boat for launch, a second victim was recovered by Officer 1 and other volunteers.  This victim was Victim 2.  When Officer 1 arrived at the boat ramp with the second victim, the victim was unconscious and unresponsive.  He was immediately placed in the care of EMS personnel on scene and was transported to a nearby hospital.  We were advised a short time later that he had been pronounced dead.  An investigation was initiated into the apparent drowning death of one Victim 2.  

Details of Investigation:
		On February 3, 3009, at approximately 0651 hours, I received a phone call from  Officer 1 on my mobile phone.  I was at my residence when I received the phone call.  Officer 1 advised me that he was at Turtle Creek Reservoir.  There was an obvious stress in his voice, and I had a hard time hearing him due to winds in the background.  Officer 1 told me that he was on Turtle Creek Reservoir and was attempting to locate an overturned boat that he believed was occupied by several goose hunters.  He requested that I respond to the reservoir with my patrol boat.  He further stated that he and Officer 2 were going to attempt to located the downed hunters.

		I immediately got dressed and retrieved my patrol boat from my garage.  The weather outside at this time was very foul with heavy snowfall and sharp north winds.  The blowing snow caused drifting in front of my garage where I store my patrol boat and forced me to dig the snow out around the garage door, before I could remove my boat.  Once the snow was removed, I retrieved my boat and headed toward Turtle Creek Reservoir.  I advised the SCSD via mobile radio that I was en route to the reservoir.  The time was approximately 0715 hours.

		At approximately 0738 hours, while en route to the reservoir, I attempted to contact Officer 2 and Officer 1 by telephone to get an update on the situation.  Roadways at this time were extremely dangerous, with high winds and blowing snow that reduced visibility to near zero.  With my boat in tow, I could only drive about 35-40 mph safely.  A short time later, I spoke to Officer 2 on the phone again.  This time, he advised me that he and Officer 1 had recovered one of the victims in the boat and that he was being treated by EMS, who were on the scene.  Officer 2 advised me that conditions were not favorable for any type of dive detail to recover the second victim if necessary.  I contacted South Region Headquarters by radio and asked them to send additional units to assist us.

		I arrived at the main boat ramp at Turtle Creek Reservoir at approximately 0740 hours.  I immediately met with Officer 2 who was standing by near the check station.  Officer 2 told me that Officer 1 was still on the water in another boat attempting to locate the second victim, with the assistance of several other goose hunters that were there to hunt that morning.  Officer 2 told me that the overturned boat had 2 people on board.  Officer 2 then assisted me in preparing my boat for launch at the Turtle Creek ramp.  I also prepared my side-scan sonar unit for use in the recovery.  Weather conditions were still very poor as the blowing snow was causing a 'white out', and it was beginning to show daylight.
Merom                         