Coast Guard, Matagorda County Sheriff's Office locates suicidal man

[The Patriot]

HOUSTON - The Coast Guard assisted the Matagorda County Sheriff's Office locate a man, Wednesday, reported to have been threatening suicide.

An MH-65C Dolphin helicopter and crew was on a routine air patrol Wednesday, at approximately 1:30 p.m., when one of the crewmembers noticed a man walking on a remote beach near San Bernard Wildlife Preserve. The helicopter crew lowered a radio to the man to establish communication.

"We asked him if he had a plan or if he needed help. He responded that he was just going to take a walk and clear his head," said Petty Officer 2nd Class Matt Russell, an avionics electronic technician at Air Station Houston.

The Dolphin crew left the radio with the man and searched for his vehicle. During the search, the crew located law enforcement officials from the Matagorda Bay County Sheriff's Office, approximately 8-miles from where the man was initially located. The Dolphin crew landed on the beach and learned that the sheriff's office was looking for the man located earlier on the beach. Two sheriff's officers boarded the Dolphin helicopter enroute to the man's last reported position.

The Dolphin crew made contact with man via radio and located him in the brush off the beach. The crew landed and the two officers apprehended the man. The Dolphin crew flew the man to the Bay City airport where EMS crews awaited to provide necessary medical treatment.

"This was a case definitely outside the bounds of what we normally do, but that is why the Coast Guard constantly trains for a variety of missions. It was a combination of law enforcement and search and rescue," said Russell.

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