Late Monday afternoon, January 29th, a 911 call was received by the Curry County Sheriff’s Office Dispatch center reporting a subject stranded on a small gravel island in the middle of the Chetco River near Steele Bridge, about eighteen miles east of Brookings.
The caller, who was responding from Gold Beach just before 4:30pm, stated he had got a call from friends telling him that 25 year old Justice Perrin of Brookings had jumped into the swollen Chetco River to save his dog that had gone in the river and had been stranded in the middle of the river for about three hours.
Sheriff’s Marine and Patrol Deputies responded, while Search and Rescue members were paged to respond as well. A Patrol Deputy arrived first and spotted Perrin just below the South Fork of the Chetco River on a small gravel bar in the middle of the river. Eight Search and Rescue members devised a safe plan to rescue Perrin and his dog before it was reported that the dog swam back across the river and was safe.
At about 7:20pm, well after dark, Search and Rescue member Ryan McGinnis deployed his home-made pram boat and was able to maneuver his boat to Perrin and bring Perrin back to safety.
Cal Ore life Flight Ambulance had been asked to respond to assure Perrin was not injured and not suffering from hypothermia. Perrin declined medical assistance.
