CLIFF RESCUE EARNS MOHICAN PARK OFFICER HIGHEST LIFESAVING HONOR

COLUMBUS, OH – A daring cliff rescue last summer has earned Jerry Cunningham, a park officer at Mohican State Park in Ashland County, the state park system’s Meritorious Lifesaving Award. Cunningham is the seventh person to receive the award since the recognition was initiated in 1994.

The meritorious award is the highest lifesaving honor presented to state park staff or others. It recognizes voluntary actions to save or attempt to save the life of another, while disregarding personal risk to an extraordinary degree.

Chief Dan West, Officer Cunningham, Mohican Regional Park Manager, Jim O'Brien

Chief Dan West, Officer Cunningham, State Forest Officer Matt Rogers, Loundonville Police Chief Scott Shoudt, Loudonville Fire/EMS Chief Tom Gallagher

While on patrol in the park on June 18, Officer Cunningham, along with Malabar Farm State Park Assistant Manager Jason Wesley, responded to a report that a car had plunged over the cliff at Mohican State Park’s Gorge Overlook. The vehicle was resting on its top midway down the 300-foot cliff face.

Officer Cunningham rappelled 135 feet from the top of the gorge to find the car teetering upside down on its crushed roof. He dug dirt and stone from the side of the car in order to reach the injured driver. Rescue personnel then rappelled down to assist in stabilizing the victim and pulling him back to the top of the gorge. Among those who assisted at the scene were Mohican State Forest Officer Matt Rogers.

The day following the accident, Officer Cunningham again repelled to the ledge where the car was resting, hooking the vehicle to a crane that had been brought to the scene to pull it from the gorge.

The Loudonville Police Department, Loudonville Fire and EMS, and Rogers also received certificates of appreciation from Ohio State Parks.

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For Additional Information, Contact:
Kelly Overly, Mohican State Park
(419) 548-4631