As the boat got closer to the noise, Rider and Patrolman Ryan Yost saw an adult deer on the shore.
In the water below her was a tiny fawn, whose head was stuck between two tree roots at Brand’s Boat Works Marina, Yost said. The baby likely went to the water for a drink and fell in, catching itself in the roots as it thrashed in the water, he said.
“The mother deer wasn’t able to go down close enough to help it,” Yost said. “It was pretty small. It probably couldn’t have been more than a month old.”
So he and Rider decided to see what they could do for the animal. Rider steadied the boat while Yost jumped onto the land.
Yost reached into the water and freed the fawn. He set it on the ground away from the bank, while the doe stood further back, watching.
“It didn’t appear to have any injuries,” Yost said of the baby deer. “It was just so tired, it just kind of laid there.
“As we were leaving, I looked back and the mom deer was going back toward it.”
Yost, who has been a Port Clinton police officer for nearly a year, said he felt good he and Rider were able to help the fawn.
“It was nice to know it wasn’t struggling anymore, that it had a chance to grow up,” he said.
Port Clinton Police Chief Rob Hickman recognized the pair on the department’s Facebook page for helping the animal.
Rider was not available for comment.
(Fremont News Messenger - May 28, 2014)
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