Town marshal who pulled boy from creek warns of water dangers
GALVESTON, Ind. (WISH) — Galveston Town Marshal Gary Fordyce wishes he could forget what happened Tuesday night, but he wants you to remember.
“It’s a terrible situation,” he said. “Myself and the father were pulling him out of the water and I pulled the child out.”
Fordyce arrived at the creek at Galveston Park around 8:15 p.m. and spent more than a half hour searching for six-year-old Jacob Robinson, who’d slipped and fallen into the creek.
“I pulled him out and put him on the ground and Officer Zimmerman from the Fire Department initiated CPR immediately,” Fordyce said.
The CPR wasn’t enough.
Officers said Robinson died at the hospital.
“No one can imagine what it’s like to lose a child, especially in this fashion. Six years old,” Fordyce said. “No one can really get a grip on what it’s like for that family and what they must be going through.”
Streets in Galveston were still flooded Wednesday after heavy rainfall starting early in the week. Police said the rain raised the creek more than two feet and sent water gushing downstream.
Robinson is the third person in just five days to die in a water accident on a creek or stream in just five days. Investigators in Putnam County found a kayaker dead Monday and another kayaker died after being pulled from the White River.
“Practice safety. Keep your kids away from those areas because things like that can happen in a split second,” Fordyce said.
DNR officers said they’re waiting on autopsy results and interviews with family members to determine exactly what happened.