Aug. 16, 2022 • Volume 25, Issue 16 • Complimentary • BlufftonSun.com
INSIDE • Queen Quet leads charge to preserve Gullah/Geechee culture 12A • Beware: Scammers on the move in Bluffton, on island 17A • Murray Sease drawn to art, museums from young age 19A • Roasting Room brings sizzling acts 29A • Foster mom goes extra 700 miles to help rescue kitten 45A
Dogged determination results in life-saving rescue of lost man By Gwyneth J. Saunders CONTRIBUTOR
That rascal Beau got out again! The little white terrier mix slipped past owner Wayne Teague and led a merry chase through the woods behind their Sun City home June 18. A few hours later, a rescue began that involved Sun City Securitas, the Bluffton Police Department, Jasper County, and the Beaufort County Aviation Support Unit, ending with a doggone good outcome. On Aug. 5, the 81-year-old Teague had a chance to thank the folks who initiated emergency services as they all gathered on the soccer field at the University of South Carolina Beaufort, including the helicopter and crew. This way, he could meet all of the people involved: those he did not see and those he did not remember. As the rescue groups arrived, Teague was re-introduced to one very special first responder: Sgt. Craig Karafa of the Bluffton Police Department. He had been off duty that afternoon but nearby when he heard the distress call over his radio, answered the call
and was the first to arrive in the area. “Fantastic,” said Teague, upon meeting Karafa. “You look a little different today, a little bit better,” Karafa told him. At the start of this experience, Teague went after the canine escapee in the early afternoon. After more than an hour’s absence, his wife, Phyllis Gribbs, was concerned that he had not returned. “My biggest fear was he had fallen or something because I know he cannot take heat,” Gribbs said. Teague, meanwhile, found Beau sitting in a little water at the edge of a drainage ditch near the powerline right-of-way. All he could see was the dog’s head, and thought he was sitting in shallow water. Teague bent down to pick up his mischievous pooch, but gravity ruled. “Suddenly, I tumbled in,” he said. Teague was shocked to find the mud was over his ankles, the water was waist-high and the embankment was at his chest.
Please see RESCUE on page 8A
Saturday, August 27th | 10am-3pm FREE & FAMILY-FRIENDLY!
310 Okatie Highway | (843) 645-7774 PortRoyalSoundFoundation.org Sponsored by: Palmetto Bluff Conservancy & The Technical College of the Lowcountry
HANDS-ON FUN!
PHOTOS BY GWYNETH J. SAUNDERS
Wayne Teague and his dog, Beau, were reunited Aug. 5 with Sgt. Craig Karafa of the Bluffton Police Department. Karafa was the first person to respond to Teague’s location when the Sun City resident was reported missing June 18.