Medal of Bravery
Awarded on: 2000-06-14
Invested on: 2001-02-02
On August 28, 1999, Karl Hoefel saved two women from drowning at North Beach Provincial Park, in Prince Edward County, Ontario. Mr. Hoefel was at the park with his family when he heard cries for help from three swimmers who had been swept to the deeper waters of Lake Ontario by a strong undertow. Although they could not see the swimmers, Mr. Hoefel and his wife entered the high surf on an air mattress and, guided by the voices of the victims, made their way to the closest one and helped her back to shore. Mr. Hoefel then re-entered the dangerous waters and battled three-metre waves until he reached another woman, some 1,500 metres out. Both exhausted, he and the woman struggled to hang onto the rapidly deflating mattress. As they drifted closer to shore, they were rescued by a man who had organized a human chain and reached them with a rope. The third victim was also rescued.