MCSO/LHCPD Partner In Dive-Training On Lake Havasu Thursday

MCSO/LHCPD Partner In Dive-Training On Lake Havasu Thursday
Becky Maxedon / 18 Mar 2022 / No Comments » Comments

By Becky Maxedon

Since Lake Havasu is one of the busiest and most-visited lakes in the Southwest, it is no surprise that local law enforcement and safety agencies train regularly for water rescue on a regular basis.

Thursday was no exception. A team of water rescue divers were training in swimming areas from Rotary Community Park to London Bridge Beach to Windsor – Lake Havasu State Park.

Sgt. Kyler Cox, of the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office Division of Boating Safety and Dive-Team Instructor, was on hand for the team’s monthly dive training. MCSO partnered with the Lake Havasu City Police Department for Thursday’s training.

“We do our dive-rescue training monthly to keep our skills good and up to par,” Cox said.

“This morning we went down to Bridgewater Channel and did some mock scenarios out there and at the swim areas at London Bridge Beach and the Rotary site.”

Mohave County Sherriff's

Dive teams search the water for a “victim” during a training exercise Thursday. Jillian Danielson/RiverScene

Cox said Thursday, the group broke into three teams and practiced with their own victim.

“Each team is practicing with their own victim that’s somebody that’s in the water that needs rescuing. Each team has a baby doll with weights attached. They sink it and then they’re required to find it.”

There are three divers in the water, Cox said, with a tender holding a rope that’s essentially a pendulum like a grandfather’s clock going back and forth. They keep doing that and they get wider and wider and deeper and deeper until the diver finds the “victim”.

“We do a little bit of competition for the team fastest to find the victim,” Cox said.

Thursday, the team that won were suited up and, in the water, and brought the victim to the surface in just under four minutes – like five minutes and 53 seconds.

Cox said that didn’t count response time. It starts when they get here and start getting ready.

There were about 20 divers participating in the training Thursday. The teams repeat the training every month.

Mohave County Sherriff

Dive teams search the water for a “victim” during a training exercise Thursday. Jillian Danielson/RiverScene

Mohave County Sherriff Lake Havasu City

Jillian Danielson/RiverScene

Mohave County Sherriff

Jillian Danielson/RiverScene

 

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