By the time Curry County Sheriff Lt. John Ward reached the scene Monday evening, the teen and deputy had been in the water for nearly an hour – and were near death.

Survival time in those conditions is generally believed to be about 20 to 25 minutes.

Ward donned his dry suit, a life vest, grabbed the rope and swam. One hundred and fifty yards out to sea, Curry County Deputy Terry Brown could no longer hold up his head. The teen, identified only as 14-year-old Joshua of Brookings, was struggling, as well.

Ward, 56, was their last hope.

It was about 5:40 p.m. when the Brookings Police Department had received an emergency call. A boy was caught in the surf off Harris Beach and couldn't get back to shore.

"Apparently he was there with family or friends and he got into the water ..." said Ward on Tuesday. "He was wearing street clothing and he was swept out very quickly, and he just got pulled farther and farther out."

The area of water where Joshua swam is a cove, but beyond it, waves were breaking at 10 to 15 feet. The Coast Guard heard the call and sent out a small boat. Meanwhile, Deputy Brown also heard the call and rushed to the scene. There, he stripped down to his pants and t-shirt, and pulled on a life vest. He also attached a rope to himself, which crews on the beach would use to pull him and Joshua to safety. But as Brown swam to the teen, he realized the rope was too short and let it go.

"Brown swam out to the boy, grabbed a hold of him and kept him afloat," Ward said. "They were not able to make it back in. He tried to calm the boy, telling him, 'Hey, we got help on the way.'"

Help was on the way, but it was not nearly as close as Brown probably assumed. Discovering their boat was too small for the big surf, the Coast Guard had turned back for a larger boat.

Now Logan Couch, a volunteer rescue swimmer with the sheriff's search and rescue team, jumped in a kayak to paddle out to the pair. But he quickly capsized. So instead, he swam to them. He was wearing a dry suit and life vest, and also carrying a rope. The idea again was that the rescuers on shore would pull the swimmers to safety. But the waves had swept the three behind some rocks and they were in danger of being pulled into them.

"They were getting pulled underwater," Ward said. "Either the rope was disconnected or it came undone. The deputy was in pretty bad shape by that time. They had been in the water probably 30-35 minutes."

One Brookings police officer stripped down and tried to swim out to the three, but he couldn't make it. Two other search and rescue members prepared to put a jet ski and rescue board in the water at the Port of Brookings. But as they did so, they heard the Coast Guard was on the scene and to wait. What they didn't know was that the Coast Guard had arrived with a bigger boat, but they couldn't reach the three because the water was too shallow.

After a 30-mile drive from Gold Beach, Ward arrived at Harris Beach.

"As soon as I got there, I just got my gear and went out," Ward said. He also was attached to a rope, which was held by rescuers on the beach.

"Deputy Brown couldn't move; he was in a lot of pain. He drank a lot of sea water; we all did. I tied off to the rope and we all grabbed each other. We had to hold the deputy's head out of the water. He was done."

Moments later, the four were pulled by rope to safety. Park rangers waited with an ATV to take them to ambulances.

Brown was in critical condition and slipping into unconsciousness. Joshua was hypothermic. Both were taken by Cal-Or life flights to Sutter Coast Hospital in Crescent City, Calif.

"Deputy Brown is doing well," Ward said Tuesday. "He is still in the hospital. He has fluid on his lungs, but they got his core temperature back up and he will have a full recovery."

The teen is also recovering and is expected to be released Tuesday.

Curry County Sheriff John Bishop credited the dramatic rescue to teamwork by Brookings Police, Brookings Fire, his own deputies and the medical staff.

"By all accounts, Deputy Brown saved Joshua's life, as he would have drowned due to hypothermia," Bishop said. "The rest of the team then saved Joshua and Deputy Brown. The EMTs of Cal-Or gave expert care and the Hospital Staff knew exactly what to do to get Deputy Brown's core temperature up quickly."

The rescue serves as a reminder that the water, even in summer, can be very unforgiving.

"Be aware of your surroundings and know things can happen in an instant and put it out of your control to save yourself," Ward said. "Then you put other people in the position of rescuing. Usually the rescuer is the one who drowns."

-- Lori Tobias