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Hunter drowns at public hunting grounds?

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Hunter drowns at public hunting grounds?

Old 01-24-2005, 04:58 PM
  #1  
Nontypical Buck
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Default 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 This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.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.
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Old 01-24-2005, 06:14 PM
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Default RE: Hunter drowns at public hunting grounds?

Man I hate to hear that has happened to someone
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Old 01-24-2005, 06:23 PM
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Default RE: Hunter drowns at public hunting grounds?

Sad SAD story! Glad the little guy got out OK!
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Old 01-24-2005, 09:49 PM
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Default RE: Hunter drowns at public hunting grounds?

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

hb
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Old 01-24-2005, 09:56 PM
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Default RE: Hunter drowns at public hunting grounds?

Sad....
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Old 01-25-2005, 12:41 AM
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GEE , Sad
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Old 01-25-2005, 12:57 AM
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Default 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.
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Old 01-25-2005, 03:01 AM
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Default RE: Hunter drowns at public hunting grounds?

Hopefully this incident doesn't keep the kid out of the woods in the future.
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Old 01-25-2005, 05:55 AM
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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....
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Old 01-25-2005, 05:59 AM
  #10  
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Default RE: Hunter drowns at public hunting grounds?

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