The following morning at briefing, MCSD stated that after interviewing
the people involved in the accident overnight, it was determined that
the actual number of people missing were four and not two as had
been stated initially. According to the IC, due to the stress and the
fact that survivors were placed on various boats after the crash that
it was difficult for any of the survivors to fully account for all the
people involved.
By Dan Nelson
During the first day of the search, BT32 and its crew were used to
secure the northern perimeter of the search. It was our job to work
with MCSD boats to close the river from the entrance of Pirate Cove to
the area know as “The Gorge,” which is several miles south of the crash.
Summer of 2018 was the first full boating
season for the staff at Station 32 in Needles.
Throughout the year, crew members spent
months prepping and attended multiple boating
and water rescue classes. In addition, all shifts spent
many hours training on the use of the boat’s electronics systems,
including radar, bottom- and side-scanning sonar, electronic
maritime navigation charts and the FLIR (forward looking infra-red)
night vision camera. All of the training enabled the personnel at
Station 32 to become safe and proficient members on Boat 32. The
training really paid off as members responded to several incidents
along the Colorado river, including a major multi-casualty boat crash
named the Topoc Incident, which would ultimately claim four lives.
Along the way lessons were learned in terms of dispatch and multi-
agency response cooperation on the river.
California Department of Fish and Game. We contacted that crew
to see what information they had and to assess what needed to be
done. The Fish and Game officers informed us that, to the best of
their knowledge, the people from both boats had been removed from
the water and placed on various private boats in the immediate area.
They also stated that there were six people involved in the crash
On September 1, the Saturday of Labor Day weekend, both the
who were walking around the shoreline, all uninjured. According
Station 32 engine crew and off-duty boat-coverage crew were just
to the officers, those people were all from the same boat and that
finishing dinner when a call for a traffic collision with extrication on
all occupants for that boat were accounted for. At this point, BT32
Highway 95 near the Nevada state line went
searched for the occupants of the second
out over the station speakers. The duty crew
boat by checking all of the boats in the
immediately rose from the dinner table and
“the crew members immediately area. Occupants from the second boat
headed toward the engine. Less than one
were claiming none or only minor injuries.
spotted two boats, both with
minute later another call came across the
However, while making contact with the
only their bows visible above
station speakers. This call was for a head-
final boat in the area, a female involved in
on boat crash with “dozens” of victims
the water. It was obvious, at this
the crash informed us that she was missing
in the water between Pirate Cove and the
two members of her party. She stated that
point, that this was going to be
Topoc Marina. The boat crew, comprising
all other members were accounted for.
a challenging incident.”
myself, Engineer Chris Abbot and Firefighter/
Paramedic Justin Hashimoto, immediately
BT32 immediately began checking the area
went back into an active role and responded
using FLIR and sonar to search for the
Code 3 to the marina in Pirate Cove, where BT32 is docked.
missing people. Shortly, after the search began, the Fish and Game
officers approached our boat and informed us that a private party
While enroute, the BT32 crew read through the dispatched notes
boat that had two people from the second boat had left the scene
and began making requests for additional boats from various public
prior to arrival but was now heading back to Topoc Marina. We were
safety agencies along the river—not only to request assistance
hopeful that this boat would have our two missing people on board,
but also to declare an MCI (multi-casualty incident). Upon arriving
but those hopes were quickly dashed as we met up with a private
at BT32 the crew quickly readied the vessel, including placing our
boat carrying the additional crash victims. The people in that boat
electronics into “Night Ops” mode, and responded to the area of the
were not the victims we were looking for. However, one of the people
reported crash. As BT32 exited the channel at Pirate Cove, the crew
on this boat had suffered serious injuries. Much to our surprise there
members immediately spotted two boats, both with only their bows
was an on-duty paramedic from River Medical Ambulance Co. and
visible above the water. It was obvious, at this point, that this was
a Mohave County Sheriff’s (MCSD) deputy on board the boat. The
going to be a challenging incident.
deputy stated that they had come across the boat on their way to the
scene and decided to keep the patient on that boat and drive it back
The only other public safety boat at the scene was a boat from the
to Topoc rather than risk additional injury attempting to transfer the
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FIREWIRE • FALL 2018
patient to the sheriff’s boat. Apparently, the owner of the boat was
attempting to transport the patient in his boat to the hospital in Lake
Havasu. That patient was eventually sent by air to a trauma center for
further care.
When we entered Topoc Marina there was a large number of Mohave
County ground units at the Marina. They had set up a command
post and assumed command—we were not aware of this fact. This is
because they had actually received multiple calls about the incident
(Comm Center had been notified by a single caller approximately
two minutes later). This situation is not unheard of, as 911 calls on
or near the Arizona-California border can hit cell sites on either the
side of the border. When that happens, the receiving dispatch may not
notify agencies in the other state to request or verify a response. In
this instance, Mohave County’s dispatch did not notify Comm Center
that there was an incident. Instead, Comm Center contacted Mohave
County dispatch when the captain of BT32 requested MCSD boats to
respond and assist. MCSD deputies had no idea that we were even on
the call. This issue was addressed at a debriefing several weeks after
the incident.
The next two days, the crew of BT32 was assigned to support members
of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s (LASO) dive team, with our boat
used as a dive platform. We deployed and retrieved divers multiple
times throughout the two-day operation. Our crew members worked
with their dive master to provide local river knowledge including
current flows, current vectors and water depths. We also used sonar to
assist with the search in areas of limited visibility and to preplan areas
of interest for the dive team. Working with the LASO dive team was a
great opportunity for the BT32 crew to put their months of training to
work. At the end of the second day, dive operations were suspended.
On our final day of involvement, the BT32 crew used both side- and
downward-looking sonar in conjunction with our electronic navigation
maps to search the river from the mouth of Lake Havasu back to
the crash site. The search took over eight hours to complete, and
unfortunately, we were not able to find a victim.
During the first three days of the search, the bodies of three victims
(Kirra Drury, age 24, and 51 year-olds Chrisi Lewis and Brian Grabowski)
were found at various points along the river. Unfortunately, as of this
writing, the body of 26 year-old Reagan Heitzig has still not been
located. MCSD continued search for Ms. Heitzig for several weeks.
Private search parties funded by the family’s “Go Fund Me” page are
continuing to search both the river and Lake Havasu.
Captain Dan Nelson is a FIREWIRE assistant editor.
Shortly after this point, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s deputies
arrived at the command post. Among the deputies were members of
the SBCSO dive team, with whom we met to exchange information.
They asked us to take them on our boat so that they could assess
whether diving at night in that portion of the river would be prudent.
Again, using our FLIR and sonar we checked the area around the crash
several miles down river. In the end, due to fast-flowing currents and
limited visibility below the water, the decision was made to dive the
following morning.
We returned to the ICP and met with the IC and his staff. They informed
us that they would continue top water searches and secure the scene
overnight. They requested that we respond the following day at 6 a.m.
to assist with dive operations.
FALL 2018 • FIREWIRE
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