Hunter drowns at public hunting grounds?
 

GREENE COUNTY, Ohio -- A West Chester man saved his 4-year-old son before he drowned in a flooded field, a family member told News 5.

Lisa Morgan calls Jeffrey Durham "our hero" for his fast thinking and final act of love after he fell through ice at Caesar’s Creek Wildlife Area Friday afternoon.

Durham's son went into the icy water to help his dad, Morgan said.

Durham, 43, lifted his son out of the water and told him to go back to their truck.

The boy walked nearly a mile through snow and dense woods to the truck. People found him there and called 911.

The boy led them back to the spot where his father died.

"It appears Jeff for whatever reason got stuck," Morgan said. "It's very likely he knew his own situation was not good, but he was focused and determined to save his child.

"Imagine what Jeff had to be experiencing physically in those extreme conditions. Yet, he was able to convince his young, scared, cold and shy child to leave his daddy, to walk all alone through snow and cold to the truck."

The boy was not hurt, Morgan said.

"It was a huge blessing that after being wet and cold and walking almost a mile he didn't have a bit of frostbite on him," she said.

The father and son were not hunting, as the media had reported, Morgan said.

"They were in the field that day doing what the two of them so loved to do together, daddy and son, in the outdoors," Morgan said.

She wanted to dispel any idea that Durham had carelessly put himself and his son in danger.

"He was an avid hunter and he knew the area. He was not being careless. The area is deceiving," she said.

Greene County police said the area is commonly used by hunters but floods a lot.

Morgan, a cousin of Durham's wife, expressed appreciation to people at the wildlife area who stopped to help.

"You think about a boy watching his father drown and it breaks your heart," said Matt Hougan, a hunter who was in the area.

Copyright 2005 by ChannelCincinnati.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

I would sue the crap out of ceasar creek, i take my son out there for pheasants, how can a feild be so flooded that it would kill someone!!![:@] That area should have beeen posted!![:@] This hits way too close to home for me guys.

RE: Hunter drowns at public hunting grounds?
 

Man I hate to hear that has happened to someone

RE: Hunter drowns at public hunting grounds?
 

Sad SAD story! Glad the little guy got out OK!

RE: Hunter drowns at public hunting grounds?
 

that is heartbreaking---please forward any future info on that T-Fan,

hb

RE: Hunter drowns at public hunting grounds?
 

Sad....

RE: Hunter drowns at public hunting grounds?
 

GEE , Sad

RE: Hunter drowns at public hunting grounds?
 

This is so sad. I wish the boy and the rest of his family well.

Turkey Fan - I'm curious if your comment on sueing Caesar Creek was serious or not. I don't know anything about that area except what I read in the article you posted, so my thoughts here might not apply. It sounds like this wildlife area is somewhat remote and perhaps in "natural" condition. It also sounds like there are some low spots and water naturally accumulates there. It probably iced over, and with snow on top of the ice they might not have known there was water under their feet.

As much as I wish that this hadn't happened and that the boy could have his father back, I don't think that its the government's responsibility to post warning signs at every possible danger. If that's simply the way the area is naturally, then I can't see where its anyone's fault.

An exception to that thinking would be if the land were modified to receive run-off from an urban area. In that way someone has created a hazard and has an obligation to warn people. We have those types of things here - flood control basins. Most of the year they're parks but when it rains they're designed to hold overflow water until it can drain to the ocean. In this case the area is clearly posted and when storms hit they close the basin, shutting gates and diverting traffic.

When you sue a government agency the money just comes from your neighbors. That money comes from everyone's taxes and could have been used for police, fire, etc. And since they're getting sued the city/county/state could very well decide its not worth it and close the area to hunting and/or other uses to minimize its liability. This is why people don't want to let people hunt their land, something goes wrong, even when its nobody's fault, and people want to sue.

RE: Hunter drowns at public hunting grounds?
 

Hopefully this incident doesn't keep the kid out of the woods in the future.

RE: Hunter drowns at public hunting grounds?
 

goosebumps the whole time i read this.......this is just too sad.......the man is a hero in my eyes, he did what any parent would do.....i'll keep his son and his friends and family in my thoughts and prayers....

RE: Hunter drowns at public hunting grounds?
 

That is tragic. That family will bear those scars forever. I feel for the child.

RE: Hunter drowns at public hunting grounds?
 

I feel bad for the family and the little guy. It's a tragic event that will live with the little one for the rest of his life but he will always know his dad was a hero! I agree with CalNewbie though, a lawsuit is not always the right way to go. This guy was doing what he loved to do in the great outdoors. There are always risks that cannot be controlled and will never be "fixed" with a lawsuit. This guy was enjoying life with his child and died doing what he loved to do. What better way to go! Read my quote below.

RE: Hunter drowns at public hunting grounds?
 

Brave Papa there!!! Very sad though!!

RE: Hunter drowns at public hunting grounds?
 

Very Sad story. He must have been some man to be able to keep his son safe.

Thoughts go out to the family.


I grew up hunting and fishing that area. I couldn't count the number of days I spent on that lake or in those woods.

I'm not certain which area of Caesar’s Creek Wildlife Area that this man drowned in. There are some fields that do get flooded on the upper portion of the lake/wildlife area. I wonder if he fell into some standing water in this area. No matter what its a sad story and I hope the best for his son and family.


A truer statement could not be made. A local sherriff was shot and killed by the guy who was running for that same office....well the murdered sherriff's wife was awarded $350 million (I know, $350 million! [:@] Don't start on this...its a whole differnt topic that burns my butt! ) from the city in damages....guess who will be paying that debt! The tax payers! I'm certain the amount will be lowered...but still....$350 million?? please...

The bottom line; I hope there is some peace in the fact that he was cool enough to safe his son.

RE: Hunter drowns at public hunting grounds?
 

Sad when a father son thing goes down this way.

RE: Hunter drowns at public hunting grounds?
 

I have a 5 year old and I can not stand to hear stuff like that. I am numb all over.

RE: Hunter drowns at public hunting grounds?
 

yea maybe sueing is not the way to go, i was really just fired up about the whole thang!![:@] Well now they know that this is a very bad part of the wildlife area and there should be something done, i dont care if its in a natural surrounding or whatever someone died there, and other people need to be warned, and there should be conservation officers that should be scouting the area for danger spots. Yea you can say well this,is this, and that is that, but right is right.......Look at the NIagra falls, do they have warining sighns? If people dont listen then that is there fault.

RE: Hunter drowns at public hunting grounds?
 

i know how u feel turkey i live in lancaster ohio. sad to hear (i dont rember hearing about it)

RE: Hunter drowns at public hunting grounds?
 

Turkey Fan,

Not wanting to argue the point or anything...but because of the tragic death of this man there should be a simple investigation. If any actions are required to help the public feel safer then maybe some simple signs could be placed; but by no way can you legislate, regulate or inforce common sense.

Do you know where exactly he died? The article was kind of vague...he might have slipped into the lake itself. I know a lot of people have drowned in that lake. (skiing, swimming, fishing, ect.) There are a few spots where the lake has "lagoons" or bays in the upper portion (knew several duck hunters who had blinds there). It's sad that he died in this manner. We really don't know the full story...could be as simple as he got someplace near the lake/creek and slipped in through the snow cover. Kind of hard to say.