Former local deputy recalls the time a man sent his patrol car into Rigby Lake

RIGBY — A erstwhile Jefferson County Sheriff’s lawman is sharing specifications astir nan nighttime his patrol car went into Rigby Lake, besides known arsenic nan Jefferson County Lake, while investigating a “kegger party” successful 1977.

The story was shared connected EastIdahoNews.com successful our play Looking Back column, which looks backmost connected what life was for illustration during definite clip periods successful eastbound Idaho history.

RELATED: Looking back: Asylum inmate escapes and patrol car pushed into lake

Terrall Hanson connected patrol duty

Terrall Hanson started his rule enforcement profession arsenic a metropolis patrolman successful Ririe and was location for 18 months earlier being hired by nan Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office successful July 1974.

In December 1976, Hanson became nan resident serviceman connected nan westbound broadside of nan region wherever he covered nan area wherever Roberts, Mud Lake and Hamer are located.

“But 1 play a month, each serviceman — nan sheriff’s agency only consisted of a sheriff and 4 deputies astatine that clip — took a play and worked,” Hanson explained. “It was 1 of those weekends I was complete (in Rigby) from Mud Lake (when nan incident happened).”

The incident involving Hanson’s patrol car going into nan reservoir took spot connected Aug. 12, 1977, according to nan Idaho Falls Post Register.

“At that peculiar time, (the lake) was a gravel pit pinch a batch of trees. Of people nan entree wasn’t nan champion going retired there,” Hanson explained. “(The county) decided they’d discontinue utilizing it for a gravel pit, and h2o would get successful location retired of nan barren furniture and sub up. People would spell retired location but nan region owned it, truthful that became a liability.”

Signs were posted that publication “County property, nary trespassing, nary parties and nary swimming” but officers still checked nan area often because Hanson pointed out, backmost then, “keg parties” were “the large thing.”

“I called successful to dispatch (that Friday night) and told them I was going to beryllium retired to nan Rigby Lake and look and spot (if thing was going on),” Hanson recalls. “I thrust astir and there’s a occurrence and there’s cars parked each complete backmost there. … I deliberation they estimated adjacent to 100 group backmost location astatine this keg party.”

Discovering nan keg party

Hanson remembers telling nan dispatcher he could spot location was a ample number of group astatine this party. He was going to cheque ID’s and spot if those astatine nan statement would disperse and leave.

“I pulled up and fto her (dispatch) cognize I was getting retired of nan car. I knew I was going to person to locomotion astir 100 yards to get complete to nan occurrence wherever everybody was gathered around,” he stated. “I near nan car moving … and I shined nan spotlight complete by nan campfire. I near nan car moving because I had abstracted keys connected my loop that I could unlock nan doorway and get backmost in.”

Once he sewage complete to wherever group were, he began checking ID’s and trying to find retired who was successful complaint of nan party.

In nan midst of nan chaos owed to kids “running for illustration crazy” trying to get retired of location because they were underage, Hanson realized his spotlight connected his patrol car went out.

“I thought personification collapsed nan spotlight,” he said.

Hanson walked complete to wherever his car was parked to spot what was going connected pinch nan spotlight, and to his surprise, his car was gone.

“I thought, ‘Oh man. Now present I americium pinch each these kids partying drunk. I’m each by myself, and I’m nan adversary,'” Hanson said.

Hanson’s car takes a dive

At first, Hanson thought personification stole his car. Then, he looked down toward nan water-filled gravel pit and saw a feline who was moving astir pinch his garment off, who jumped into nan lake. He wasn’t nan 1 responsible for landing nan car successful nan water, according to Hanson. Instead, he was concerned personification was successful nan car.

“I ran complete location to spot what was up pinch that and you tin spot my spotlight sparkling up done nan h2o from nan bottommost of nan lake,” Hanson remembers seeing. “You tin spot nan headlights and they are starting to turn dimmer.”

He continued, “Here I am, nary radio. I sewage nothing. All I sewage is my sidearm and a brace of handcuffs, and astir 80 kids near that are each laughing and going wild.”

Hanson recovered that personification collapsed nan model retired of his car and put nan conveyance successful gear, which caused it to thrust correct down nan embankment into nan lake.

He had his power equipment, a shotgun, a CB power and different various instrumentality wrong his patrol car. With nary measurement to interaction dispatch, he wasn’t judge what would hap next. Reports opportunity that an individual who was astatine nan statement went to nan sheriff’s agency and told them what was going on.

It wasn’t agelong earlier Hanson heard a siren and saw overhead constabulary lights making their measurement to nan lake. A Rigby City Police portion arrived followed by respective different units from nan surrounding areas, according to a newspaper clipping Hanson saved.

“We detained arsenic galore arsenic possible. We took names. We had group opening their trunks to spot if we could find immoderate bedewed clothing aliases immoderate benignant of evidence,” he mentioned.

Suspect found

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office arrested Ronald Hawker, 33, of Grant, successful relationship pinch nan submersion of nan car. He was charged pinch expansive larceny and nan demolition of nationalist property.

A newspaper clipping Hanson has held onto complete nan years explains that Hawker’s enslaved was primitively group astatine $10,000 but was reduced to $1,000. The fishy was free connected bond.

“They reduced nan enslaved because he was not a formation risk,” Hanson said. “If I retrieve right, he plead connected immoderate benignant of reduced charge, a plea bargain type thing.”

As for nan car, scuba divers pinch nan Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office were called to hunt for nan vehicle, which was recovered nether 30 feet of water, nan Post Register reported.

A chaotic weekend

That Friday nighttime car plunge incident was nan commencement of a play that Hanson would ne'er forget. The sheriff told him to usage nan main deputy’s car for nan remainder of nan play since he didn’t person a vehicle.

But connected Saturday night, he sewage a telephone that a pick-up went successful a canal. Once he sewage to nan scene, he saw different pick-up was trying to propulsion nan motortruck retired of nan canal. The concatenation had astir six feet of slack and Hanson was only astir four-feet behind.

“He put that successful reverse and came backing up pinch his tires spinning and rammed correct into nan beforehand of nan different constabulary car,” Hanson said. “It totaled nan main deputy’s car.”

Hanson called nan sheriff astir 3 a.m. and told him what happened.

“There was a agelong pause,” Hanson recalls. “I said, ‘What do you want maine to do for a car? He said, ‘We’re benignant of starting to get awkward connected them now.'”

The adjacent morning, Bob Brown who owned Bob Brown Chevrolet showed up astatine nan sheriff’s agency successful a 1971 Chevrolet Caprice Classic. The sheriff had called Brown to spot if he had thing connected his batch that could beryllium utilized arsenic a constabulary car.

For nan adjacent astir six months, Hanson drove that car astir until nan sheriff’s agency ordered him a caller car.

“I don’t cognize if anybody has ever totaled 2 cars successful 1 play (in Jefferson County) since,” Hanson said arsenic he fto retired a chuckle.

Courtesy Terrall Hanson