The Mirror / Man drowned trying to rescue fiancee's 3-year-old boy

Archive for Wednesday, July 1, 2009

July 1, 2009

A man who drowned Monday evening was trying to save a child at Perry Lake, Jefferson County Sheriff Jeff Herrig said Tuesday.

Robert Courter, 28, was attempting to rescue his fiancee’s 3-year-old son and “ended up getting in trouble himself,” Herrig said. After trying to help the child, the Nortonville man was submerged for eight to nine minutes in about six feet of water.

“He went out to help the little boy, and it’s hard to say if he was just exhausted or cramped up or if there were some other problems, or what happened,” Herrig said.

The sheriff had initially said there were reports that the man couldn’t swim, but he learned later in the day that Courter could swim.

Witnesses at the swimming beach pulled Courter from the lake and started cardio-pulmonary resuscitation, Herrig said. Courter was transported to Lawrence Memorial Hospital, but doctors could not revive him.

Herrig said the 3-year-old boy was rescued, but he wasn’t sure by whom.

Point of View

Do you plan on attending the St. Patrick’s festivities Saturday in Tonganoxie?

I like seeing Tongie being festive and all dressed up for the occasion. Along with my family, I will be attending the parade, watching the Wild Women of the Frontier, snarfing up some corn beef and cabbage and listening to the pipes. I’m only Irish on St. Paddy’s Day, and sometimes the weekends before and after. The rest of the time, I’m Scottish and both cultures regard pipes as heavenly. To me, it is also a celebration of spring’s imminent arrival, and the green color carries that message, too.

— Jacque Admire

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