Good Samaritans are being celebrated after helping first responders in Branson save a young man from drowning.
On July 6, around 6 p.m., a minor was drowning at Moonshine Beach. By the time firefighters made it to the scene, witnesses were already pulling the victim to the shore.
Konnor Diesen, a bystander a part of the rescue effort, was at Moonshine Beach with his family.
“This lady stopped by saying she needed help, so I jumped off my floaty, assisted her and got her to where she could reach,” said Diesen. “That’s when I started yelling 911 because, on the way, she was able to tell me that there was someone else under the water.”
Different people took turns diving into the water to search. Diesen was searching for more people to help.
“That’s when I had four other people come in, and it’s thanks to them because they were able to get to the bottom,” said Diesen.
It took approximately 10 minutes to find and pull him out of the water.
Once the victim was on the shore, the Western Taney County Fire District and other first-responders from Branson arrived and began to help.
James Lennan, the assistant fire chief for Western Taney County, said firefighters ran into the water to help pull the victim to shore.
“We worked diligently for fifteen minutes providing some very, very high caliber care, and we were able to regain a pulse after about 15 minutes. He was then transported to a local hospital.”
Lennan said everyone who helped is a hero.
“So those six to 10 people who went out into the lake and found that young man and were able to bring him to the surface so we could do our job, they’re the heroes,” said Lennan. “We do this a lot, and don’t get me wrong, there were some extraordinary actions by providers yesterday in some of the things that we did, but we couldn’t have done our job if they wouldn’t have started the process.”
Missouri Water Patrol is currently investigating the partial drowning. The young victim was in critical condition when he went to the hospital.
(Story by Jacob Blount, Ozarks First)
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