Sioux, Plymouth Counties strengthen dive team response through new mutual aid agreement

PAULLINA, Iowa (Sioux County Radio) - A recent joint training exercise at Mill Creek State Park near Paullina showcased more than just underwater search techniques. It also highlighted a new automatic mutual aid agreement between the Sioux and Plymouth County dive teams designed to get more personnel and equipment to water emergencies faster.

Sioux County Emergency Management Coordinator Ryan De Kruyf says the two counties have long worked together when one team needed assistance, but this year they formalized the relationship through an automatic mutual aid agreement.

Rather than waiting to determine whether additional help is needed, both dive teams are now dispatched simultaneously whenever a qualifying incident occurs in either county.

“We get help coming right away,” said De Kruyf. “And we also get fresh bodies in case our divers get burned out or they’ve been in the water too long and need a break. We get more help on the way right away, rather than sometimes it takes 20 minutes, half an hour or even longer to realize, ‘Hey, we should probably get some more help on the way.’”

The agreement also allows both teams to become familiar with each other’s operations before responding together to an actual emergency.

Preparing for rare but critical emergencies

Although Sioux County’s dive team is called out infrequently, De Kruyf says that’s exactly why regular training is so important. Water rescues and recoveries are among the most challenging incidents first responders face, and responders need to be ready when those calls come.

The recent exercise brought together the Sioux County Sheriff’s Office Dive Team, Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office Dive Team, Paullina Fire Department and O’Brien County Emergency Management at Mill Creek State Park—an increasingly popular recreation area the teams wanted to become more familiar with.

During the training, crews used side-scan sonar to locate submerged objects before divers entered the water to recover items intentionally placed on the lake bottom.

“We sunk a couple of cinderblocks, and we sunk a bike for our divers to go in and recover. We were able to go and search for those with the side-scan sonar as well and see the outline, and go in and attempt to recover them,” De Kruyf said.

De Kruyf says training with neighboring agencies also improves communication and coordination before real emergencies occur.

“The more we can practice and train with all the agencies that would be involved in a situation or an incident, the better. Now they know what we need when we get on scene, and we know what they’re doing while we’re en route,” De Kruyf said.

He says one of the most critical pieces of information during a water rescue is identifying the person’s last known location before they disappeared beneath the surface, allowing divers to begin searching in the most likely area.

Volunteer team ready to serve

The Sioux County Dive Team consists of about 10 members from communities across the county, with seven or eight serving as active participants throughout the year. The team includes volunteers from a wide variety of professions, including farmers, business owners, maintenance workers, and firefighters.

The team is supported through a line item in the Sioux County Sheriff’s Office budget for training and equipment, while its members serve on a volunteer basis and often leave their jobs or homes when called to respond.

Tracing the team’s roots

De Kruyf says the current Sioux County Dive Team was reestablished in the mid-2000s.

The team was originally formed in 1979 under the Sioux County Civil Defense Department but gradually became inactive.

After 4-year-old Breiton Ackerman disappeared on May 22, 2005, while on a fishing trip with his family along Willow Creek, local officials renewed efforts to rebuild the team. Despite an extensive search involving divers, search dogs, helicopters, and heavy equipment, the child has never been found.

In 2007, the Sioux County Sheriff assumed leadership of the dive team, providing the organizational structure that remains in place today.

De Kruyf says the team continues training and building regional partnerships in hopes of being as prepared as possible should another water emergency occur.

He also asks the public to remember that when dive teams respond, families are often experiencing one of the worst days of their lives.

“The biggest thing for the public is, please just give us space and give that family privacy because they’re going through a lot. The last thing they need is hundreds of people out there watching and making a scene,” De Kruyf said.

De Kruyf says neither county has yet needed to activate the automatic mutual aid agreement for an actual emergency response.

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