In this week's Crittenden Press, January 9, 2025, we see the obituary of our local citizen, James D. "J.D." Grimes. In the article it mentions that J. D. was resuscitated from drowning by Leroy Hodge, when he was 16. Such an incredible story. Here is the first hand report of this miracle from The Crittenden Press, July 11, 1963.
The Crittenden Press, July 11, 1963
Youth’s Drowning Narrowly Averted Sunday; Found on Rope
A sixteen year old Crittenden County youth narrowly escaped drowning last Sunday afternoon in the Ohio River at the head of Rankin Island, just a few hundred yards above the Cave-In-Rock Ferry landing.
J. D. Grimes, son of Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Grimes, was wading in water about waist deep, on the channel side of the island, when he stepped in a hole in the sand over his head. His struggles were immediately noticed by George Hodge, who swam to the youth, who could not swim, and tried to pull him back to shallow water. Frantic efforts of the boy to save himself prevented Hodge from towing him to the bank.
George Hodge’s brother, Sam, was towing another man, Jewell Myers, on water skies nearby and heard George Hodge’s cry for assistance. Sam pulled the boat towing Myers in close to the two in the water and attempted to pull both George and the Grimes youth into the boat. George, exhausted from struggling with the youth, lost his grip on the boy and he slipped under as Sam pulled his brother from the water.
With George lying safely in the boat, Sam drove into the water and searched for the youth until he was exhausted and then returned to the boat. Myers, meanwhile had swam to the boat and as Sam pulled in the tow rope Myers had been using, he could move the boat downstream, he felt a heavy weight and as he continued to retrieve the ski rope, he surfaced the Grimes youth with the rope under his arm pit.
With the unconscious boy in the boat, the three raced to just above the ferry landing where they beached the boat and sent bystanders to call for an ambulance.
Waiting for the ambulance to make the 11 mile trip from Marion to the river, artificial respiration was begun by Otis Millikan, a bystander. Millikan failed in his attempted respiration and Leroy Hodge, nephew of the other two Hodges, began mouth-to-mouth respiration he had learned at a scuba diving school recently. When the ambulance arrived the youth had begun to show signs of life. With oxygen being administered on the way to the Crittenden County Hospital the youth momentarily regained consciousness, then lapsed again.
Physicians said that the mouth to mouth artificial respiration given by Leroy Hodge was responsible for saving the youth’s life.
The Hodges said that they estimated that the Grimes youth had been under water a little less than five minutes and showed no signs of life when efforts were begun to restore his breathing. His extremities had already discolored.
The happy youth was discharged from the hospital Wednesday morning, little the worse from his experience.
What an amazing story.
