Lee County dedicates new water rescue boat

MONTROSE, Iowa (WGEM) - Community members, law enforcement, and even a Congresswoman, made their way out to Montrose on Monday for the dedication of Lee County’s new water rescue boat.

The dedication ceremony, at the Lee County Economic Development building, coincided with the anniversary of two of the three deaths that Lee County Sheriff Stacy Weber said prompted the need for a water rescue and recovery craft.

On Jan. 3, 2017, Bill White Sr. and Ronnie Wagner drowned in the Mississippi River while fishing, kicking off a search that lasted for weeks.

White was Lee County Crime Stopper president Tammy LeMaster’s father.

“It was two months and a day before we found my dad,” LeMaster said. “It was three months and a day before we found my cousin Ronnie.”

The third death took place on July 4, 2020, when Devyn Broeker drowned in the Mississippi River

One of the many who cut the ribbon during the dedication ceremony, LeMaster said she hopes the new boat means no other family will have to suffer as she did.

“You know, it may not change the outcome and it wouldn’t have changed our outcome. However, that family would not be worrying, ‘Are they going to find them?, because we’ve got the divers and the equipment to do what needs to be done,” LeMaster said.

Weber said the 26-foot craft comes fully loaded with a crane, 200-horsepower engine, and all the gear the county’s three-man dive team needs.

“Knowing that we have an avenue to make sure that we can be a part of rescues and enforcement on the water now, in our area is, I can’t put it into words,” Weber said.

Weber said other agencies like the Fort Madison and Keokuk Fire departments, as well as the Keokuk Emergency Corps, handle water emergencies up and down the Mississippi River.

“But there’s a spot here in Montrose that’s just wide open, and nobody is really covering that, so there was a hole that needed to be filled and this will fill that void,” Weber said.

Lee County dive team member and Det. Sgt. Clint Wray said the boat will not only make the coverage more complete but it will also make it more efficient.

“Three divers, all from Keokuk, can get to the sheriff’s office in 15 minutes,” Wray said. “Our gear is either going to be stored at the office, or on the boat, and we can put in at Montrose. So we’re talking a response time of less than an hour, I think is feasible. It’s a blessing to finally have this boat for all of the local residents, including those in other counties and other states.”

Weber said it cost roughly $50,000 to build the boat and buy all the necessary gear and equipment.

He said through their calendar and fish fry fundraisers, as well as donations from Lee County residents and businesses, they reached their goal in just five months.

But he said the biggest donation came from the smallest person; 7-year-old Dempsey Wagner who raised $13,610 for the project, giving them the funds to buy a cutting-edge sonar system.

Wagner’s efforts earned high praise from both Weber and Congresswoman Marianette Miller-Meeks who was on hand to witness the dedication.

Miller-Meeks, who represents Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District, said she first heard about Wagner’s efforts when her grandfather, a Wapello County Sheriff’s deputy, called her office and asked her to donate.

“I was so moved and so touched by it, and it’s so iconic of Iowa to be and how communities come together in Iowa, that I talked about her story on the floor of Congress,” Miller-Meeks said.

She said she’s no stranger to losing a loved one in the water. Her niece drowned two years ago in Washington state.

“To be able to have that rapid, quick response, I think is a security and a confidence the community has that their rapid-rescue and response team is really going to be there to help these families,” she said.

With the community so deeply involved in bringing the boat into existence, it’s not hard to see why LeMaster chose to name it ‘The Legacy.’

“That encompasses everything we did and why we did it and what we’re leaving,“ LeMaster said. “When I’m no longer with CrimeStoppers, when he’s [Weber] no longer with the Sheriff’s department, it’s our legacy.”