Springville scout earns national award for life-saving effort

Swelling waves beat Larry Bell against the bow of his wrecked boat as he hugged it with weary arms.

It had been an hour and a half since Larry, 61, and his wife, Shirley, were forced to abandon their sinking vessel July 3 on Utah Lake. An old, rotten, useless life jacket forced Larry Bell to cling to the capsized boat while wind and current pulled his wife farther and farther away until she was out of sight.

The sun was fast setting in the West, and they both feared they wouldn't see it rise the next day.

"It looked pretty bleak for both of us," Shirley, 60, said.

Physically separated by wind and wave, both of them joined hearts in a plea for divine intervention.

"We both had really prayed and just asked for help to be sent to us," Shirley said. "My husband prayed that an angel would be sent to us."

Five months later, the Bells sat six rows from front and center in an LDS meetinghouse at 786 N. 400 East in Springville while one of two angels sent to them that day received the National Boy Scouts of America Honor Medal. To the Bells, of Eureka, 12-year-old Gabe Campbell, of Springville, is an answer to their prayers in a very literal sense of the word.

"He's our angel," Shirley said. "He's our angel of rescue."

Earlier that day, Larry and Shirley launched their 18-foot Gulfstream boat from Lincoln Beach on the southwest end of Utah Lake to enjoy a day of fishing. Larry said he piloted the boat near Bird Island when rocks sprang up toward the boat like a sea creature from the abyss and ripped a hole in the hull.

They tried to drive back the beach, but water stalled the inboard engine. The Bells bailed water for a short time, hoping someone would see their plight. But at 5 p.m., the only signs of life they saw were planes sailing through the blue sky overhead.

"Geez, I wish you guys could see us down here," Shirley said.

Soon water flowed over the deck and Larry realized they had to abandon ship. They strapped on life jackets and jumped into the lake's lukewarm depths.

While the boat sank, Larry discovered his life vest was old, rotten and utterly useless as a flotation device. He kicked and tread water as long as he could to stay by his wife, who didn't know how to swim. Amazingly, the bow of the boat breached the water 50 yards away from them, and Larry saw a last resort to say afloat. He started to swim slowly toward the boat.