ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, January 14, 1997 TAG: 9701140080
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: COROLLA, N.C.
SOURCE: PAUL CLANCY AND ANNE SAITA LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
WHAT MICHAEL LA BOUNTY has to say to Sherri Melson will remain a secret. But whatever it is helped keep LaBounty alive in the 40-degree water of Currituck Sound, N.C., for a remarkably long time.
A duck hunter survived 14 hours in near-freezing water after a boat accident killed his son and two others, fighting for his own life because he promised to pass on a dying friend's final words to his wife.
``Before he died, Johnny gave me a message to give to [his wife] Sherri,'' said Michael LaBounty, 29. ``I had to survive.
``I thought about songs, hymns, Christmas songs, country rock. I watched birds, the flow of the water. I just tried to stay focused on anything. God, I wanted to go to sleep. But I had to live. I had a message to get to Sherri.
``I thought of 1,000 things,'' the stocky, 5-foot-10 aviation mechanic at Oceana Naval Air Station said. LaBounty helped search Monday for the boat's remaining occupant, a friend who is presumed dead.
``I knew I had to live. I wanted to see my wife again. And I was worried about Billie Jean.''
Billie Jean is the wife of the missing man, Philip Boedker, 51, of Chesapeake. The couple had planned to celebrate their wedding anniversary Friday.
LaBounty's 8-year-old son, Mike Jr., died in his father's arms after their 17-foot outboard boat was swamped on a hunting trip Saturday in Currituck Sound.
LaBounty's hunting buddy John Milton Melson, 33, and his son, John Sidney Melson, 6, of Moyock, N.C., also died. Melson's final message to his wife, Sherri, was private, LaBounty said.
On Monday, less than 24 hours after being released from an Elizabeth City, N.C., hospital, LaBounty, 29, two brothers and their father joined the effort to find Boedker and LaBounty's 5-year-old chocolate Labrador retriever, Winchester.
``I have to find Philip,'' LaBounty said. ``He's the only piece left to find. I want to find my dog. But we have to find Philip.''
Units from Corolla Fire and Rescue, Corolla Emergency Operations, the North Carolina Marine Patrol, and two wings of the Civil Air Patrol were at the scene. A Navy helicopter, part of a nearby training exercise, provided aerial surveillance.
In all, five boats, two helicopters and two airplanes combed the waters for the missing hunter.
Sniffing dogs - a Doberman and an English spaniel - were brought into the search as well.
By late Monday afternoon, searchers had narrowed their focus to the waters near the Whalehead Club at Corolla.
LaBounty said he said he was dressed in hunting clothes, with Neoprene socks and gloves and a coat. He clung to the boat with a rope when it filled with water early Saturday shortly after the hunting party left Waterlily.
Several other hunting parties were in the area Saturday and returned safely, authorities said.
``The boat never turned over,'' LaBounty said. ``We started having engine trouble. I don't know what the problem with the motor was; I've never had problems with it before.''
A wave came over the bow, filling the boat with water. However, LaBounty said, that did not cause the boat to sink.
``Philip was in the back left of the boat,'' LaBounty said. ``We were trying to get the water out. I turned the boat sort of sideways, and was trying to surf it. The weight shifted to the back, and the boat just went straight down.''
LaBounty said Boedker was the first to go into the water.
``I threw him a seat cushion, and he grabbed hold of that, and then I threw him a life preserver. But he held onto the cushion. I don't think he wanted to let go, because he was propped up in the water. Then after about 30 seconds, he was gone.''
Once the boat went down, LaBounty, his son and the Melsons were in the icy waters. Clinging to the bow, LaBounty held onto his son. He also held onto his friend, Johnny Melson, whose son was carried off by the wind-swept, 40-degree waters. Air temperatures were in the mid-30s.
``I held onto my son. But after about 90 minutes, he died of hypothermia, or shock or something. I emptied out some gas cans and tied them and a buoy onto him, so that they'd be able to find him.''
LaBounty managed to hold onto his friend for a while, ``but he started babbling and his eyes got big. Then he was gone. I tied duck decoys to Johnny so that they could find him.''
LaBounty also removed heads from some of the decoys, releasing them into the current in the direction where John Sidney Melson's body had disappeared.
``I tried to cut loose a couple of decoys into the current,'' LaBounty said. ``It was so cold, I dropped my knife. I tried to chew the knots with my teeth, but they were too tight. It was just so cold.''
Coast Guard officials have said the survival rate in water that cold without special cold-weather gear ranges from 30 minutes to 2 1/2 hours.
LaBounty's waist-high waders provided some protection, said his wife, Shannon, and he tried to constantly move around to keep his body warm.
The Coast Guard said LaBounty was suffering from severe hypothermia when he was airlifted aboard a helicopter. He was treated and released from Albemarle Hospital.
LENGTH: Long : 101 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: 1. LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE Search and rescue workers andby CNBa trained dog motor along in Currituck Sound in Nags Head, N.C., on
Monday, searching for a missing hunter. color
2. headshot - LaBounty