by Timothy Rutt
Members of the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department's Montrose Search and Rescue Team, while looking for a missing Bakersfield man, helped save the life of a toddler Friday afternoon.
According to a press release, the rescue team was searching for Ertug Ergun, a missing engineer from the country of Turkey who had been reported missing in the forest last week. Members of one of the three rescue teams came across a 1 1/2 year old girl face down in a creek shortly after 5 PM Friday.
The mother of the child said later that the toddler and a three year old were being watched by an adult family member while all were sitting at the creekside. When the three year old ran away, the adult gave chase, leaving the toddler alone for a moment, which was long enough to wander into the creek. When the family member returned, members of the rescue team were performing life-saving measures on the toddler.
According to the release, "Montrose Search and Rescue and Reserve Deputy Janet Henderson (an emergency room nurse) and Reserve Chief Michael Leum came to the aide of the girl, along with her mother. Immediately rendering aide, the girl came to life but suffered from obvious signs of water intake. Los Angeles Fire Rescue, US Forestry and Fire Rescue responded to the location and examined the child who was already being examined by Deputy Henderson and receiving oxygen. The child was flown to a local hospital for follow-up treatment."
Once the girl was taken to the hospital, the team resumed its search for Ergun, who has still not been found.
