Kansas police chief who stopped Excel mass shooter helps save another life

A man who nearly drowned at Harvey County East Lake on May 31 is recovering after the swift action of Hesston Police Chief Doug Schroeder, his wife, Vanessa Schroeder, and a bystander.

After spending time in the intensive care unit, Larry Etheridge was listed as being in fair condition this week, according to staff at Ascension Via Christi St. Francis. Schroeder said he helped rescue Etheridge from under a dock at the lake after Etheridge hit his head and fell in the water while he was on a boat headed back to shore.

Doug Schroeder has a history of saving lives.

Schroeder is widely known for his heroism after he entered Excel Industries in 2016 and shot and killed Cedric Ford, who murdered three co-workers and wounded 14 other people while high on methamphetamine.

In 2018, President Donald Trump awarded Schroeder the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor for stopping Ford.

On the recent Sunday, Schroeder and his family arrived at the lake around 4 p.m. They were unloading their boat at the dock when they heard someone yell.

“‘Can someone help?’” Schroeder said he remembers hearing. “‘My dad went under and he hasn’t come back up.’”

The 44-year-old chief, unsure if it was real, ran over to where he heard the the yell coming from, about 50 yards away. As he ran, he told a family to dial 911.

He could tell by the look on people’s faces that it was real.

Schroeder jumped in and started to feel around under the dock. He was in chest-high water for less than a two minutes when he felt Etheridge’s back under the dock. He pulled him out and, with help from people on the dock, hoisted him up .

Etheridge’s face was blue, he had no pulse and he wasn’t breathing, Schroeder said, estimating he had been underwater for several minutes.

Vanessa Schroeder and a woman who said she was a nurse alternated performing chest compressions and helping Etheridge breath. Vanessa Schroeder, who has been CPR certified since she was a teen working as a lifeguard, and the nurse worked on Etheridge between 7 and 9 minutes.

Etheridge started taking occasional breaths and the normal color began returning to his face, Schroeder said.

“Between the nurse and Vanessa giving CPR, I don’t think he would’ve been here,” Schroeder. “I mean he wouldn’t be. He was not responsive.”

When Newton EMS arrived to take him to St. Francis, Etheridge was talking, Schroeder said.

Schroeder said a family member reached out to Harvey County dispatch, which put them in contact with him.

“She was emotional. And she’s a Christian and told us she had no doubt the timing of it all, that God had us there,” Schroeder said. “She was real emotional. Very, very thankful.”

About being in a place to help after the Excel shooting and the latest effort, Schroeder said he didn’t know what to make of it.

“I don’t know, you know. It’s difficult to step back and think about, you know,” Schroeder said.

“Perhaps my purpose. It’s part of my purpose.”

This story was originally published June 15, 2020 at 5:02 AM.