NEWS RELEASE

On Saturday, Indian River County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Christian Mathisen was patrolling the waterways of Indian River County by boat, when he heard a distress call come across VHF radio. Deputy Mathisen quickly obtained the coordinates of the boat and responded fifteen miles off the coast of Sebastian Inlet to find a twenty-four foot boat taking on water. Deputy Mathisen assisted the four occupants of the boat in pumping out enough water to get the boat moving again. He was able to escort the boat safely to the Main Street Ramp in Sebastian with no issues. Were it not for Deputy Mathisen’s response to the boaters, their distress call may have gone unnoticed. None of the occupants were injured during the incident.

Deputy Mathisen is a full time canine handler with the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office who also helps with marine patrol as needed. Indian River County Sheriff Deryl Loar stated, “Deputy Mathisen’s work here is to be commended. By monitoring boat radio traffic, he was able to locate and save four citizens this weekend. Whether it be canine, patrol, marine, or any other assignment, Deputy Mathisen always goes above and beyond the call of duty.”