Page 16 - Sergeant Moriarty News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

To see somebody just sheer will and drive of that person to not go over and just stand up. >> he's up, but it's not time to celebrate yet. the man's footing is still unstable. co-pilot art litsinger knows he has precious seconds to act and only he can save the man now. but spray is pelting him in the face. and so blindly he tosses the life ring into the teeth of the swirling wind. >> fortunately, i got pretty close to him, and the current took it right across in front of his face, about two foot in front of him. >> now it's do or die for the man who has held on for so long. >> he got it. >> he...

To save one man who has crept dangerously close to the edge of the falls. the call comes in on march 19th, 2003, 5:08 p.m. sergeant pat moriarty is on duty. he's a 19-year veteran of the niagara falls state park police. >> our radio man yelled down the hall and said, we just got a call from the canadians. there's a man on the ice at terrapin point. >> not a safe place to be. terrapin point is a piece of land that sits as close to the falls as you can get. >> the drop from that point, terrapin point, is over 180 feet straight down. if you go over in that particular spot, you're not going to sur...

We got pretty close to him. the problem is with the treacherous air current, it was almost impossible to control the aircraft. >> at some point he said, i'm running out of power. we're not going to be able to do this. >> another failed attempt. the chopper returns to land. so the team can come up with plan "c." in the water, carella and moriarty know time is not on their side. >> at this time now, it's starting to get dark. gary and i were getting colder in the water because we'd been in there for a while. i know my hands were getting numb. i was getting concerned, if we did get close enough t...

The raging waters, hoping to get the man a life ring. onshore, a rescue worker finds a suicide note from the man now fighting fiercely for his life. but carella and moriarty know nothing about the note, and they're able to make contact with the victim. >> we wanted to reassure him. tell him, we're coming to get you. we're here for you. >> he was able to yell loud enough that i can't stand here much longer. i'm cold. and he said he's getting weaker. >> carella and moriarty can't stand there much longer either. >> we could feel our feet being pulled from under us, and we looked at each other and...

>> the decision is made to lower carella and moriarty into the water. these two men, who have met only in passing before, know they'll need to trust each other. >> we shook hands and looked each other in the eye and i think we understood, i'm there to save your life and you're there to save mine. >> as they're lowered into the water, they both have two ropes attached to their harnesses. one ties them to a small shrub on the shore, and the other is controlled by about 20 rescuers. they will use all of their strength to keep those men from getting swept over the falls. >> the water going at such...