Man jailed after wild ride down river on breakaway dock
NEAR ROSEBURG, Ore. - A Roseburg man was behind bars Monday morning after deputies with the Douglas County Sheriff's Office said he led police and fire crews on a dangerous trip down the South Umpqua River while floating on dock that broke away from its moorings.
According to the sheriff's office, just before 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, reports started coming in about a man floating down the fast-moving river.
When emergency crews arrived, they said they found Larry Allen Strain, 59, floating downstream on a dock that had his boats tied to it.
Deputies say the dock had come loose at the end of Neill Ave.
Crews from Douglas County Fire District No. 2 attempted to get the man into a water rescue boat, but they said Strain refused.
According to officials, Strain told them he wanted them to get a bigger boat and push his dock to shore. Authorities say Strain was warned that he would be arrested if he did not get in the rescue boat.
Rescue crews also tried to give Strain a life jacket, which they say he also refused.
Deputies say crews were able to throw a life jacket to Strain as he passed under the Melrose Bridge.
Sheriff's deputies launched another rescue boat at River Forks and headed upstream, "despite the extreme risk due to the water level, swiftness and the large amount of logs and debris in the river."
Strain eventually gave up and got into the boat with authorities somewhere between the Melrose Bridge and Singleton Park.
Strain was taken into custody at River Forks Park and taken to the Douglas County Jail on charges of disorderly conduct and six counts of reckless endangering. His bail was set at $40,000.
Officials say the dock and boats continued on down the river.
YouNews reporter jwiks uploaded this video of the dock floating down the river:
YouNews reporter 'Oryguncowgirl' also took videos of the incident as it unfolded:
The first video shows the debris floating down the fast moving river
Couldn't find an anchor?
Surfin' the Umpqua...
Dork on a dock..
... It's kinda like Dope on a Rope, only different.
It could have been handled a lot differently. Perhaps someone with more information will figure out how the crew could have assisted in moving the dock with boats towards shore, or figured a way to beach it.
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Only in such a liberal state could you be arrested while being rescued. Â I can understand his desire to save his dock and equipment. Â Regardless of wether it made the rescue difficult, an arrest does not appear to be warranted here. Â Old and stubborn tend to go hand in hand. Â Most of us don't have much these days and I doubt he could have replaced his gear easily. (though a life is more difficult to replace.)
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He didn't cut the dock intentionally and it was HIS life at risk. Â Compound that with a trip to jail, this doesn't seem right. Â the charges are bogus, leave the guy alone. Â $40,000 bail? Â Bail on a robbery or other crimes involving a victim tend to be much less.
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Sounds like the rescue crew was inconvenienced and decided to punish the ol' guy. Â Malice on their part seems to be at play here. Â Am I wrong in this assessment?Â
Wait until he gets the fines for the dock and boats littering the waterway wherever they ended up, between those and cleanup costs, it'll likely be much more than $40,000.
So I suppose that the sheriff's department and the emergency crews have located this mans personal dock and boats?  What in the He77 is the sheriff doing? I assume this man was there of his own accord how did it become a matter of arrest? My father was born in Roseburg in 1917 and he was accustomed to nearly yearly trips down the Umpqua during storms it was what local kids did in the warm wet Oregon winters. I have been on the main Umpqua during flooding and it is grand indeed. I think the law has overtaken common sense in this matter.
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Meanwhile, the social security office was bombed on Friday by an Iraqi refugee, but I guess that's not news!
@flyroy Well then how is it possible that you would hear about it?Â
 @WendyTeagarden The mainstream media is selective in what they'll print and if it follows a desirable narrative. There is a lot of alternative media that will run stories the AP and MSM won't touch. Just because you've never read it doesn't mean it never happened.
@Jamie DUH! This IS the OFFBEAT section and many people choose this over the "Hard" news to have a little lightening of their day.
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Just because you never giggle doesn't mean that it's not possible ( Wow a TRIPLE negative sentence...you should be used to those.)
Where is the crime? The "reckless endangering" is the police departments fault for trying to go save him.. they should have let him drown and then they could take their sweet time retrieving his carcass.Â
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The charges should be dropped.
I don't understand this story; its pretty messed up! Why couldn't he get in his boat and rescue himself?
@portlandborn83 He was wanting to salvage his dock and multiple boats. I wonder if they will turn up downstream or simply just get lodged up against a bank and sink.
@Dirtman At which point he will be responsible to remove them immediately or facee fines and/or arrest.
What I find unusual is that he did not have a fising rod out with a line in the water.
@Dirtman   maybe he was out of worms.
While you are out there might as well give it a try.
@dkgiovenco Yeah, it would have given the police the impression that it was just a normal casual day on the river for the guy.
Whats the problem? Just soaking a line, when I am done I will get in my boat and off I will go.
Good luck making those charges stick Douglas County. That's not going to happen. Jailed with a $40,000 bail because this guy doesn't share your ideas about a safe water rescue? That's an abuse of authority.
" Officials say the dock and boats continued on down the river."
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What? No citation for littering?
Like they would have gone in another direction!
 @RatchetRanger I keep thinking of the scene in "Josey Wales" when Clint shoots the rope
@beernpizza - What we call the Missouri boat ride....
 @WendyTeagarden They'er not sure yet what county has jurisdiction.
What the hell you think, I just floated in on a banana boat? Sheese.
 @swimbad - That's Florida dude, they should be in offbeat with a makeshift boat/tube rescue tomorrow.
@swimbad Well, we do know that you swin badly.
 @WendyTeagarden  @swimbad That's because I only know the breast stroke!
@swimbad that's what ALL the girls say.
I am curious as to how Mr. Strain could be arrested. Did Mr. Strain cause the dock to break free? How was he "recklessly endangering" anyone besides himself? Are we so trapped in the nanny-state that we can no longer "endanger" ourselves?
 @Altazi How the hell is the gene pool supposed to cleanse if people keep saving dummies?
 @Altazi I suspect he recklessly endangered the lives of the first responders when he refused their order to get in their boat and then demanded they send out a bigger boat to push his raft to the shore.
@Tim Snyder @Altazi No can go both ways
@Tim Snyder @Altazi When he said "no" the first time, that should have been the end of it.