Unsung Heroes - Part 1

From Cincinnati.Com:

2 bodies recovered in lake

On Thursday, a couple from Idaho contacted by the Chippendale family arrived in Ohio to help with the search.

On Friday, underwater recovery experts Gene and Sandy Ralston dropped a line near the spot where the bodies were thought to be.

The couple's remote-operated vehicle, which is submersible, was to be used to remove the bodies from the lake's floor on Saturday, but it malfunctioned, Wisse said.

Two bodies, thought to be a father and son who disappeared on April 2 at Harsha Lake in East Fork State Park, were recovered Saturday.

A team of divers from Columbus pulled the bodies from the murky water at 11:48 a.m. and 12:25 p.m.

Family members of Charles E. Chippendale, 74, of Franklin and Scott E. Chippendale, 38, of Lebanon were on the scene Saturday for the recovery effort.

Sandy and Gene Ralston, a husband and wife team, search for drowning victims using state-of-the-art equipment. I know the Ralston's were instrumental in pinpointing the precise location of the father and son who were recovered in Harsha Lake through images that were sent to them.

While posters at "The Pound" were busy maligning reputations, making baseless accusations, and fictitiously posting under a "nic" he once used, Mr. Ralston was oblivious to it all since he was off doing what he does best... bringing closure to a distraught family by locating and assisting in the recovery of their loved ones.

A job well done, Team Ralston!

(Originally posted 6/13/07 @ 1:33 PM)

From: Dispatch.com

Sophisticated sonar helps solve drowning cases
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Theodore Decker

The southern Ohio lake had kept its secret for two months. Then a sonar image sent to a man 1,700 miles away shed light on the mystery.

"Hey, come look at this," Gene Ralston, 62, said to his wife, Sandy. "I think we’ve got ’em."

Ralston’s excitement centered on two irregularities in an otherwise unremarkable stretch of the bottom of East Fork Lake. The untrained eye might have overlooked the shapes or perhaps written them off as rocks or debris. But when it comes to finding drowning victims using side-scan sonar, the Ralstons of Idaho are as skilled as they come.

The Ralstons recovered their first drowning victim in 1983. They began using side-scan sonar about seven years ago and have recovered 50 bodies using the technology. The semi-retired couple spends more than half the year on the road, trying to bring closure to victims’ families. They ask only that their basic expenses be paid.

"Equipment is one thing, but knowing how to use it and interpret images is really the key," Ralston said. "The trick, I guess, is to use it enough so that you’re familiar with what a body is going to look like under all kinds of conditions."

Mark Enz, a friend of the Chippendales’, took five weeks off work during the search. He said the bodies would still be in the lake if not for the Ralstons. They joined the search at the family’s request.

"They were going to have a water grave," Enz said. "Gene’s a phenomenal dude. He’s the best, him and Sandy."

(Posted 7/8/07 @9:45 PM)
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Update! From: WISCTV.COM

Out-Of-State Team Searching For Missing Boater Finds Drowning Victim

It wasn't exactly what they came to Wisconsin for, but the Idaho Mountain Search and Rescue Unit did help recover a missing body over the weekend. The group initially made the 1,500-mile journey to continue searching for a boater missing since 2005, WISC-TV reported.

Chris Dickinson and Darren Mellor were on Lake Mendota when they went missing in July 2005. Mellor's body surfaced weeks later, but Dickinson's body has never been found.

The Idaho Mountain Search and Rescue Unit is a non-profit group that started in 1983. It consists of Gene and Sandy Ralston. The two employ hi-tech side-scan sonar techniques from their boat in recovery efforts.

This weekend's visit was supposed to continue the search for Dickinson, but when word spread that another drowning had occurred, the Dickinson's told the Ralston's to help another family in need.

On Sunday morning, the Ralston's efforts helped recover the body of Cory Walker, WISC-TV reported. Walker, a 26-year-old Madison resident, went missing Saturday night. The side scan sonar located his body in less than 15 hours.

From: madison.com

For these searchers, 'it's something in our hearts'

The semi-retired environmental consultants came at the request of Bernice and Darrell Dickinson. Their son, Christopher Dickinson, 25, of Ridgeway, disappeared along with his friend Darren Mellor, 25, of Brooklyn, on July 31, 2005, while boating on Lake Mendota. Mellor turned up three months later, but Dickinson still has not been found.

This weekend, their mission was to find Dickinson, but with his family's permission, they interrupted the search Sunday to help the Dane County Sheriff's Office find Cory Walker, 26, who drowned while boating with friends Saturday.

Walker was the 50th victim the Ralstons have found since 2000, when they bought their side scan sonar system.

Sandy Ralston said families of drowning victims often contact them for help after law enforcement gives up searching for the body. She and her husband sleep in campgrounds and only accept enough payment to cover their travel expenses.

"We just don't think that the families should be burdened with that type of expense," Gene Ralston said. "It's something in our hearts that tells us it's something we should do."

Bernice Dickinson, Christopher's mother, said the family was anonymously given the Ralstons' contact information earlier this month.

"I got hold of them and I was so happy," she said. "They are wonderful, loving people.