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