An Ellsworth County man is honored by local law enforcement and the Army Corps of Engineers for efforts in saving a teen-aged girl from drowning over the Fourth of July weekend.
Daryl Lee was recognized on Friday for his actions that took place on July 3rd at Kanopolis Lake. On that day, Lee was camping with his wife at the lake, when they noticed a person in the water, crying for help. Lee went into the water and helped 14-year-old Reagan Dalke to the shore. Dalke had been treading water for more than two hours after the boat she was riding in with her father and best friend capsized. Both Dalke’s father and friend drowned in the accident, while she was taken to a Wichita hospital in serious condition. Lee says that Dalke is the real hero and that he simply did what anyone in the same situation would have done.
Lee was made an honorary Deputy Sheriff by the Ellsworth County Sheriff's Office and was also presented with the Heartland Award from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
