Emergencies of all varieties just another day at the beach for Lake Mead park rangers

By Jackie Valley

Wednesday, July 11, 2012 | 2 a.m.

An abandoned shoe found Sunday on the banks of Lake Mohave was missing more than its other half.

The owner of the tiny, “Cars”-themed sandal was fighting for his life at University Medical Center — a battle he later lost.

By early afternoon, a visitor at Six Mile Cove scooped up the seemingly misplaced sandal and handed it to U.S. park rangers canvassing the beach area. Hours earlier, others at the lake pulled the 2-year-old boy and his father from the water, where they were found floating near a submerged tree. The 37-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene.

The drownings cast a somber spell over the park rangers as they juggled calls on a busy holiday weekend and tried to ascertain what happened. At Six Mile Cove, they talked to the trio of men who found the father and son.

“You guys are our missing link on what happened,” Assistant Chief Ranger Randy Lavasseur told the group. “We’re dealing with a fatality. We truly appreciate your help.”

The men described a frightful scene: They noticed a toddler’s arms and legs bobbing in the water. Then they saw the father’s body. An overturned raft floated nearby. Neither victim wore a lifejacket.

“If these guys had (lifejackets) on, we would not be here,” said Prashant Lotwala, a supervisory park ranger at Lake Mead National Recreation Area, which includes Lake Mohave. “It just breaks my heart.”

Park rangers investigated 49 drowning deaths at Lake Mead from 2007 through 2011, Lavasseur said. So far this year, four people have drowned in the national recreation area.

While drowning incidents garner the most attention, park rangers respond to all sorts of emergency situations — from the bizarre to the mundane — as they assume the role of law enforcer, firefighter and paramedic inside the 1.5 million-acre recreation area.

“Rangers who come here want to be busy,” Lotwala said. “We’re busy all year.”

Lotwala proceeded to rattle off everything that had occurred by 11 a.m. Sunday: the father and son drownings, a boat accident, a swimmer rescue, motor-vehicle accidents. The previous night, rangers investigated allegations that a man exposed himself to a child in Crawdad Cove, he said.

The job keeps the 42 commissioned park rangers at Lake Mead darting to different areas of the recreation area, which is about twice the size of Rhode Island, he said. All are certified as emergency medical technicians, search and rescuers, motorboat operators and firefighters, in addition to law enforcers, Lotwala said.

“Our bread and butter is law enforcement, but we do all the other skills,” he said, noting that Lake Mead has more emergency medical calls than most national recreation areas.

The career intrigued Lotwala, a Newark, N.J., native, after he spent a summer interning in Bend, Ore., as part of the Student Conservation Association.

“I never looked back,” he said.

The career path meant frequent moves among national parks, eventually leading him eight years ago to Lake Mead.

“I love it here,” he said. “I’ve stayed this long because I really enjoy what I do.”

On dark days like Sunday, Lotwala admitted the job has its downsides. In his time at Lake Mead, Lotwala said he had responded to “dozens and dozens” of fatalities, many of which could have been prevented.

“A lot of these things happen because people aren’t prepared,” he said. “Folks are inexperienced. ... It’s their first time boating. They forget to look up safety rules.”

He was quick to point out the job’s perks, though.

“Where do you go to get paid for this and enjoy the beautiful scenery?” he said while navigating a gravel road toward Six Mile Cove.

But on Sunday, the father and son who drowned that morning consumed Lotwala’s thoughts. Under the late-afternoon sun, he walked among visitors camped out on PWC Beach, urging parents to put their children in lifejackets.

It’s something Lotwala said he often repeated. After all, he considers education a key part of his job.

“There’s no point in doing it after the fact,” he said. “It’s important to do it every single day.”

Park rangers said Sundays tended to be busy at Lake Mead as families gather to relax. In the summer, that can mean crowds, heat and alcohol.

“It can be a violent mixture,” said Park Ranger Todd Austin, who handles the recreation area’s only police dog.

By nightfall, the rush of emergencies typically dies down as guests head home, Lotwala said. Another summer weekend gone.

“They come in, they have a good time and they leave,” he said.