- Five TPWD Game Wardens were honored with special Life Saving awards on Thursday for a water rescue in Port Aransas in March 2024.
- TPWD Executive Director, David Yoskowitz, recognized them during the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission meeting.
- The five wardens involved in the March water rescue were from Nueces and Harris counties.
- They pulled an unresponsive fisherman out of the water after he fell off of the Port Aransas jetties on March 17, 2024. He survived the accident.
On Thursday at the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission meeting, Texas Parks and Wildlife (TPWD) Executive Director, David Yoskowitz, recognized five Texas game wardens who saved the life of a fisherman who slipped off of the jetties into the water in Port Aransas on March 17, 2024.
Nueces County Game Wardens John Failla, Kyle Hendley, Benjamin Jenkins and Welden Rappmund and Harris County Game Warden Eric Taylor were patrolling the area during the busy spring break week when they received the call about the fisherman.
"So when the call came over via the radio from the Port Aransas dispatch, we immediately knew where it was because that's in our patrol area and we frequent that area quite a bit" Game Warden Welden Rappmund said. "We didn't know exactly how far down it was going to be on the jetty because its quite long, but we coordinated with each other. One of my partners, Kyle Hendley, that I was with that night, he grabbed the oxygen and he knew to do that and he grabbed that right away. We all immediately sprinted down the jetty because we didn’t know what we were facing, especially with the thunderstorm overhead.”
Thunderstorms and extreme wind that night made conditions out on the jetty very dangerous. Despite the hazard, the five wardens worked together to pull the unresponsive fisherman out of the water.
"It was pretty hectic, pretty slick, and we had to make some pretty quick decisions to get to the individual. It worked out for the best, I believe," Rappmund said.
The wardens were able to bring the fisherman up the jetties, and provide him with oxygen until Port Aransas EMS could take over. The man survived the accident.
"It feels really good. We're trained to do certain things. I was with my team and my partners, as well as individuals from Port Aransas that day, so it feels good to work as a team to accomplish a goal," Rappmund said.
The Life Saving award that the five game wardens received is awarded to employees of the Law Enforcement Division who have "rendered a service beyond the normal course of duty, because of his/her timely observation, diligence, perseverance, and judgment in the line of duty."
The Life Saving awards are an annual statewide recognition tradition where TPWD supervisors nominate game wardens who have gone above and beyond in their efforts.
"It's certainly very special, especially in front of my partners, and my family. It really means a lot to me," Rappmund said.
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