Post by laurnsmom on Dec 22, 2008 5:24:15 GMT -5
A Long Island cop and his dog saved the life of an elderly man trapped for hours in an icy marsh - then went on with their planned hunting trip, the officer said Sunday.
Off-duty Suffolk County cop Joe Sarno, 38, was getting ready for duck hunting with his chocolate Labrador, Otter, when they came upon 80-year-old Fred Hall around noon Saturday.
The frail man wandered in the snow into the mucky waters, got stuck and nearly succumbed to hypothermia.
"I was just, like, I got to get this guy out of there," Sarno recalled. "He's going to die out here."
The cop managed to yank Hall out of the sticky mud, then pulled him through the icy wetland back to safety.
"It was an excellent day," said the five-year police veteran. "I saved a man's life and got to shoot some ducks." [bWell, that about wraps us up in a nutshell, no?
?[/b] Hall, of Mastic, L.I., was still recovering Sunday at Brookhaven Memorial Hospital Medical Center, where he was listed in stable condition.
"I'm grateful," he told the Daily News. "I don't remember how I got there."
Hall said he left his Lambert Ave. home, about a mile from the spot where Sarno found him, some time on Friday. A wintry storm blew through the area that night.
He couldn't tell how long he was entrapped in the marshlands.
Neighbors said the senior citizen lives by himself, but appeared confused and disoriented in recent days.
The cop-and-canine duo discovered him off Barnes Road in Moriches. As Sarno noticed a peculiar figure, Otter started barking and they both approached, realizing it was a person.
"He looked like he was up to his waist in mud," Sarno said of Hall. "He was out of it. He wasn't talking at all."
After telling a nearby farm employee to call 911, he pulled Hall from the mud, dragging him by his tattered jacket 400 feet to safety.
"It was freezing," Sarno said.
He used his own jacket to wrap the shivering Hall, whose hands were red and raw from the cold, and waited until an ambulance arrived.
"Being a police officer, that's your job," said Sarno, of East Moriches. "I'm glad I could help."
The humble hero was very proud of Otter, one of three dogs Sarno trains for duck hunting. The brown puppy, who turned 1 year old last month, only recently started to join his owner for sporting runs. I think Otter should get some of that duck....
"He's a good boy," Sarno said. "He stuck by me the whole time. He wouldn't leave my side."
Debbie Sarno, 38, was just as proud of her husband.
"That's the type of person he is," she said of the father of three young boys. "He didn't think it was a big deal. He said anyone would have done it."
In fact, Sarno didn't even tell his wife about the chilling rescue until later that evening. After saving Hall, he and a pal went after ducks.
"An hour and a half after the rigmarole," Sarno said, "I met a friend and went duck hunting."
Congratulations Officer. Congratulations on saving this man and also for having a great attitude about it.
oyaniv@nydailynews.com
Off-duty Suffolk County cop Joe Sarno, 38, was getting ready for duck hunting with his chocolate Labrador, Otter, when they came upon 80-year-old Fred Hall around noon Saturday.
The frail man wandered in the snow into the mucky waters, got stuck and nearly succumbed to hypothermia.
"I was just, like, I got to get this guy out of there," Sarno recalled. "He's going to die out here."
The cop managed to yank Hall out of the sticky mud, then pulled him through the icy wetland back to safety.
"It was an excellent day," said the five-year police veteran. "I saved a man's life and got to shoot some ducks." [bWell, that about wraps us up in a nutshell, no?
?[/b] Hall, of Mastic, L.I., was still recovering Sunday at Brookhaven Memorial Hospital Medical Center, where he was listed in stable condition."I'm grateful," he told the Daily News. "I don't remember how I got there."
Hall said he left his Lambert Ave. home, about a mile from the spot where Sarno found him, some time on Friday. A wintry storm blew through the area that night.
He couldn't tell how long he was entrapped in the marshlands.
Neighbors said the senior citizen lives by himself, but appeared confused and disoriented in recent days.
The cop-and-canine duo discovered him off Barnes Road in Moriches. As Sarno noticed a peculiar figure, Otter started barking and they both approached, realizing it was a person.
"He looked like he was up to his waist in mud," Sarno said of Hall. "He was out of it. He wasn't talking at all."
After telling a nearby farm employee to call 911, he pulled Hall from the mud, dragging him by his tattered jacket 400 feet to safety.
"It was freezing," Sarno said.
He used his own jacket to wrap the shivering Hall, whose hands were red and raw from the cold, and waited until an ambulance arrived.
"Being a police officer, that's your job," said Sarno, of East Moriches. "I'm glad I could help."
The humble hero was very proud of Otter, one of three dogs Sarno trains for duck hunting. The brown puppy, who turned 1 year old last month, only recently started to join his owner for sporting runs. I think Otter should get some of that duck....
"He's a good boy," Sarno said. "He stuck by me the whole time. He wouldn't leave my side."
Debbie Sarno, 38, was just as proud of her husband.
"That's the type of person he is," she said of the father of three young boys. "He didn't think it was a big deal. He said anyone would have done it."
In fact, Sarno didn't even tell his wife about the chilling rescue until later that evening. After saving Hall, he and a pal went after ducks.
"An hour and a half after the rigmarole," Sarno said, "I met a friend and went duck hunting."
Congratulations Officer. Congratulations on saving this man and also for having a great attitude about it.
oyaniv@nydailynews.com