Sustained by faith and care for one another
by Donna Braymer
By Easter Sunday morning it had been raining for days in the Ozarks. For river enthusiasts Olen Marshall, 62, and his grandson Dustin Campbell, 17, both members of Open Door Baptist Church in Harrison, AR, the adrenalin rush of the Buffalo River was calling.
They went to the river after church to launch their Funyaks, a type of inflatable canoe. Olen wanted to make some good memories. He later said, “I sure didn’t expect the day to be as memorable as it was.” The memorable day, it turned out, would not end until Tuesday morning.
The river at flood stage is different. This is what draws the canoers. Olen says, “Most of the river path averages the width of a couple of double glass doors, but that day it was 50-75 feet wide at the narrowest point, and up to a quarter-to-half mile wide at the widest.”
And there are covered dangers. Hidden brush yanked the 10-foot paddle from Dustin’s hands. Olen was able to recover Dustin’s paddle, but lost his in the process. He continued down river with the help of a spare small single backup paddle he had in the canoe. But when the pair hit rougher water, their canoes bumped and overturned.
They both grabbed for rocks. Olen was trying to help Dustin and they both began bobbing down the river without a canoe. Both paddles lost, Dustin saw Olen floating down river with his face in the water. Olen was trapped in an area where the water had him suctioned under a rock. It was churning and he was head first in the water.
Dustin floated within reach of the canoes, and he was able to grab them, but not the paddles.
“We’re walking out of here now,” Dustin remembers thinking. He floated to a fork in a tree and was able to get out of the water. He stowed the canoe and ran back to Olen. They were both out of the water, but on opposite sides of the river.
Olen said, “The river had won. That’s when it’s smart to just get out. We had lost all of our paddles. I knew people would be worried about us, but getting out safely was our priority. We decided it would take a while, but it would be safer to walk out.”
The river was too wide to cross at this point, so they walked up river hoping to find a place to cross. At about 5 p.m., they lost sight of one another.
Olen continued upstream for about three hours until he found a place where it was only 20-30 feet wide and he used the natural spinning of the water to propel his canoe to the other side. After going back over a mile and not spotting Dustin, he thought the young man must be ahead of him.
When it was time to bed down for the night, they were still separated. Olen found a place under a bluff and used his canoe for a blanket.
Dustin had also found a place under a bluff, shed his wet shoes and socks, and wrapped his rubber canoe around him. “I never got cold,” he said. Dustin not only had his 48-pound Funyak, but he had been entrusted with the survival bucket that had keys, water, crackers, and matches.
Early the next morning it was still raining. Both men rose and began to walk in the same direction, but Olen was near the river while Dustin was further up the mountain, so they were unaware of one another. The terrain was difficult and hiking was slow.
When the two didn’t make it home at the expected time Sunday evening, news began to spread quickly that two men were lost on the Buffalo River. By daylight Monday morning, SAR (Search and Rescue) teams were combing the area looking for the two men with storms continuing to flood the area.
Olen tied his canoe to the top of a sapling as a signal that he was okay. He could then move more freely, but the river bluff was high, and conditions were wet, muddy, and slippery with rain still pouring. He remembers, “I knew if I fell, I wouldn’t make it,” Olen said. “I had many conversations with God. I told him I was ready if it wasn’t His will for me to get out safely, but then I’d plead, ‘Please take care of Dustin.’”
A little later Olen heard the men calling their names. “When I heard the men calling Dustin’s name, my heart sank. I realized he wasn’t ahead of me.”
Olen was spotted by the SAR people almost within sight of the rescue command center at Boxley Baptist Church. He was treated for hypothermia and wanted dry clothes to go back and search for Dustin.
By the end of the day Monday, Dustin was exhausted as he dragged his canoe over rocks and stumps. He had walked 13 hours and crossed 60 streams in the pouring rain.
“Monday night I finally realized I was going to have to sleep outside again. I just kept praying for Grandpa. I didn’t pray for myself. I knew I could make it, but I knew this would be difficult on him,” Dustin said.
He woke Tuesday morning at 7 a.m. with the sun shining. Happy and encouraged, he left the bucket and canoe, grabbed the keys and the last of the water, and prayed, “Lord please give me a break. Surely I can get out in an hour.”
At 10:05 a.m. Dustin heard a helicopter. He ran down the hillside to get to a clearing where he could be spotted. He lost his footing and rolled down the hill, and ended up in some briers and wet moss. He had to wait 45 minutes before the helicopter came back by.
When they did spot him, they dropped a message for him to stay put and left him some food. Meanwhile, the sunshine brought hope to the whole community. While the helicopter was dropping Dustin supplies, his classmates were preparing to meet at the flagpole to pray for his safe return.
The area he was found in was so isolated and difficult to travel to, it would have taken horses four hours to get him out, so a rescue crew came to him on the river.
Through it all, the Marshalls left a great testimony with the rescue people, family, and friends. They quietly prayed and at times tears would come, but they never questioned God. They just prayed. It was awesome and terrible at the same time as a pastor’s wife to watch a family you love in such pain.
The story made a lasting impact in the communities. Dustin later posted on Facebook, “It is amazing to see how God has used my experiences to touch so many. If I had the choice to go back and knew what was going to happen, I would do it all again because God was with me all the time. I thank God for seeing fit to bring me out and thank him for using every individual that looked and prayed for me. God is just so wonderful, and I now know what it means by ‘God works in mysterious ways.’ LOVE YOU ALL.”
On a Saturday, two weeks later, the men returned to the woods under much better conditions, recovered their canoes, and were home by lunchtime.
Olen and Geraldine Marshall have raised their grandson Dustin as active members of Open Door Baptist Church, Harrison, AR, where Howard Braymer is pastor. Olen has been a member since 1973 and taught every age of Sunday school. He currently serves the church as treasurer.