Wagoner County Sheriff's Patrol Boat Expected To Enforce Lake Law

The Wagoner County sheriff has a new crime fighting tool they'll be using at Fort Gibson Lake this Memorial Day weekend as many boaters are expected.

Deputy Keden Schrum was behind the controls of the Wagoner County Sheriff's Office's new patrol boat. It's a tool the Sheriff has hoped to get for some time.

"Think we'll get a lot of use out of it, lot of good for the public," Schrum said.

This will be the first big holiday weekend the sheriff's office will have the boat on the water at Fort Gibson Lake.

Deputies recently finished extensive training and are ready to put the patrol boat into action.

Until now, the Highway Patrol Marine Enforcement division and corps of engineers have handled law enforcement on the water.

The new patrol boat will be a nice addition, especially with the busy boating season here.

"I think our main approach is just going to be there for the public, if they need some help, boat is broke down we can help with that, be able to assist with search and rescue if we have to, then, of course, if we have to do some enforcement we can take care of that," said Schrum.

Not only will the boat be used to respond quickly to emergencies, deputies also plan to use it for crime prevention, especially theft.

Schrum said, "We'll spend some time out here at night, patrolling these docks. We have a lot of people who break into docks; they come in on a boat, swim underneath them and take stuff."

Emergency crews always stress safety on the water. The new patrol boat is expected to help, especially with so much of Fort Gibson Lake in Wagoner County.

Right now, three Wagoner County deputies have finished training to operate the new patrol boat on Fort Gibson Lake, but more training is planned soon with the Highway Patrol Marine Enforcement division for other deputies.