KJAS radio station owner flies to the rescue of man in lake

JASPER COUNTY- by Steve Stewart/KJAS- A Jasper man was rescued on Friday evening after he was reported missing for over five hours on nearby Steinhagen Lake, just west of town.

It all began at about 2:30 pm when 23-year-old Kerby Hallam launched his jet-ski and headed out to check on his duck blind. Hallam had reportedly told his family that he would return very shortly, due to the fact that he was scheduled to referee a basketball game at Big Sandy on Friday evening.

Game Wardens from The Texas Department of Parks & Wildlife responded to search for Hallam with their boats, and KJAS owner Mike Lout used his plane for an aerial search. Meanwhile, the Jasper County Sheriff's Department and Emergency Corps stayed with the Hallam family at the boat ramp.

At about 7:30, Lout spotted Hallam struggling in chest deep water, just northwest of the Neches River Bridge.

Due to a problem communicating by radio with the game wardens, Lout flew over them to get their attention, and then he flew back to Hallam and circled over him until the rescue boats arrived.

When Hallam was brought ashore, he said that he accidentally rolled his jet-ski, and was unable to restart it because the intake had taken in water.

Hallam said he was in shallow water, so he pushed the watercraft to shore, and then he tried to walk until he could reach Highway 190.

However, Hallam said that he could barely walk through the boggy marsh, and he encountered an alligator, and a water moccasin, and was stung on both arms by wasps. Hallam said he realized that he would be better off trying to walk through the lake water, which he later drank to keep himself hydrated.

Back at the boat ramp, Emergency Corps Director Billy Williford gave Hallam bottled water, and he and his family expressed their gratitude to the rescuers.