‘I’m not giving up’: Battle Ground native recounts dramatic boating rescue

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Battle Ground native and current Spokane resident Ben Heuvel wasn’t expecting to spend close to 45 minutes in the freezing Pend Oreille River water on New Year’s Day, or at least not in the fashion he and his hunting buddy did. Soaked, trying their best to keep moving while their boat was filled with water, the two were subject to a dramatic rescue by two off-duty Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife employees who just happened to be in the area after postponing an earlier duck hunting trip. 

The rescue was first reported by The Spokesman-Review newspaper of Spokane, which chronicled the ordeal from the perspective of the rescuers: Mike Wilkinson, an aquatic invasive species technician and Jerry Havens, a technician at the Spokane Fish Hatchery.

The Reflector later learned Heuvel was born and raised in Battle Ground and gave him a call. 

The day started like many other duck hunting trips; they arrived at a boat launch near Cusick at about 6 a.m. New Year’s Day. 

“We’ve been out to that launch a few times and never had a problem before,” Heuvel said, adding he had been to other launches that hunting season with no incident. This time, he noted, the launch was particularly icy.

Heuvel and his hunting buddy, Keith “KC” Colby, had an extra bag of hunting decoys that didn’t fit in storage so Heuvel held them up at the front of the boat. A kick from the motor about five minutes after launch sent the extra bag of decoys to the back of the boat — both men had their headlamps off as they were navigating by the moon under a clear sky so they didn’t initially notice until water began to flood in from the rear.

“I could hear the motor making a weird sound and I could feel myself being lifted up,” he said.

Heuvel had put their life vests next to each seat, though he recounted that even with them in such close proximity they couldn’t be grabbed in time to make use.

“Everything in the boat just went everywhere,” Heuvel said, describing the moment the boat flipped.  

The men were able to turn the boat back over but by then it had flooded. Heuvel estimated the two were in the water for 30 to 45 minutes. He said that when he hit the water there was an instant of panic, though he knew then he had to maintain composure.

“As soon as you panic, that’s when you die,” Heuvel remarked. The two started yelling in the direction of the bank in an effort to get help — assistance they couldn’t see as it was still pre-dawn.

The current on the Pend Oreille where they launched was deceptively swift. Heuvel estimates the two were carried about a quarter-mile by the end of the ordeal. He had to keep kicking toward the shore so that he wouldn’t lock up in the freezing water, though the current kept the two from reaching it.

“I’m not giving up on trying to figure this out until I literally just can’t move,” Heuvel recalled saying.

Their rescuers could not get their motors to start so they were paddling in order to get to him. The Spokesman account noted the rescuers had three motors in total with the first two dead and a third one dying during the ordeal.

By the time the rescuers had arrived it was daylight. 



“At that point we were dead weight,” Heuvel said, adding he didn’t believe he could hold on for more than 10 minutes before getting into the rescuers’ boat. 

In the boat they removed their soaked clothes and were given spares from the rescuers. It was then that he recognized one of the WDFW employees — Heuvel had known Wilkinson for several years.

“I looked up and I said ‘Mike, what are you doing here?’” Heuvel remembers. “He looked back at me and he goes ‘what are you doing out here?’” 

The rescuers weren’t even supposed to be at the launch that day. One of Havens’ loved ones recently had a heart attack which postponed their trip initially scheduled for Dec. 30.

Even after the rescue Heuvel said it was still stressful as now they had to get the motorless boat back to the launch. By the time they made it there first responders were on-scene as the rescuers had called 911.

Warming up was “excruciatingly painful” as blood returned to freezing fingers and toes, Heuvel said. He declined a hospital visit while his hunting buddy accepted — by the time he was on shore Heuvel had warmed up enough not to be a hypothermia risk. 

Heuvel said he didn’t have any lasting effects though Colby still had some numbness. The majority of their gear was recovered including the boat and both men were back at home by the end of the day.

“It was almost like a dream that it had even happened because it was such an extreme experience, and to just be a few hours later sitting at home, drinking coffee and watching TV,” Heuvel remarked.

Heuvel has lived in the Spokane area for about 10 years, though he grew up in a house on Southwest 20th Avenue in Battle Ground, graduating from Battle Ground High School in 2002. He hasn’t been on the river since the rescue but not because of any trepidation — snow and the close of the hunting season prevented any return.

“The only thing is, is that I won’t get in a boat without a life jacket,” Heuvel said. “You don’t get into a car without buckling your seatbelt. You don’t plan on an accident, but that’s why it’s called an accident.”

Even with the life jackets right next to their chairs in the boat Heuvel noted “there’s no reaction time to find one,” likening the situation to putting on a seatbelt at the time of a crash. 

Heuvel said their rescue was a case of Wilkinson and Havens being in the right place at the right time, especially given that the rescuers’ own trip was initially scheduled for a few days before.

“If those guys had not been there at the launch we would not have been able to hold on long enough, and I don’t know if we would have gotten back to shore,” he concluded.