Benton Police Department Officer Steve Robinson (back, left) accepts the Woodmen of the World Life Saver Award from Woodmen representative Roger Pierce at the WoW hall in Benton.
Two local officers have been recognized after they helped save a missing Graves County woman and her 9-month-old grandson last month.
Benton Police Department Officer Steve Robinson and Marshall County Deputy Sheriff Sgt. Tim Reynolds were honored with Woodmen of the World Livesaver awards Monday, courtesy of Benton Woodmen of the World Chapter 117 at the WoW hall in Benton.
Robinson and Reynolds were early responders who swept the roadside on foot and found missing Mayfield resident Kayla Belcher, 35, and her 9-month-old grandson, John Luke Sheridan. The two were discovered in an overturned SUV down a ravine July 17 near the Marshall-Graves County line. The vehicle was not visible from the road.
The two had been reported missing after they left the previous afternoon to visit a relative near Kirksey and never arrived. Kentucky State Police were able to ping the last known location of Belcher’s cellphone, which led responders to the area. Reynolds and Robinson discovered the SUV and were among those who worked to free the injured Belcher and Sheridan from inside.
Further investigation revealed Belcher’s 2004 GMC Envoy had dropped off the side of the road and struck an embankment, causing it to flip and come to rest down in the heavily-weeded area. Responders were forced to cut several small trees to gain access to the vehicle.
Belcher was flown to Deaconess Hospital in Evansville, Ind., for treatment; Sheridan was taken to Marshall County Hospital ER. Both survived after having been trapped inside the car for several hours.