Montague man becomes fourth American honored as a Canadian hero

MONTAGUE, Mich. (WZZM) -- On July 29, 2014, a routine fishing trip to Canada for Charles Devowe turned into a series of events he'll likely never forget.

Devowe's lifesaving act on that day not only saved the lives of two children, but it also made him the fourth American to be recognized by the Ontario Provencial Police Department, joining Michael McGill from Sterling Heights who, along with his two sisters, made a similar save, in Lake Huron, 25 years ago.

Devowe's story begins as he drove from Sault Ste Marie into Canada. He says was following a semi on a two-lane road, heading north toward Chapleau, Ontario on Highway 129, when he saw some debris, strewn at a 45-degree angle, on the road.

"I kept traveling on the road about another two miles [after seeing the debris] and decided to turn around and go back," said Devowe.

He parked his car off to the side of the road near where the debris trail was and began walking along the guard rail. He says he immediately heard children screaming from down the embankment.

"The little boy was screaming, 'help me! Please help me," said Devowe.

Devowe said he then saw a Pontiac Vibe vehicle flipped upside down in a creek at the bottom of the hill. Devowe has bad knees, and says he didn't want to venture down the embankment alone, fearing if something were to happen to him, nobody would know, so he says he began flagging down passing cars on the highway.

Once he managed to get some help from a passerby, he says adrenaline took over, his bad knees became an afterthought, and he began working his way down the hill. When he got to the submerged vehicle, he realized time was likely not on his side. He says he saw three people rapped inside the slowly sinking vehicle.

A 31-year old woman, a 7-year old girl and a 12-year old boy were fighting to stay alive.

"I tried to get the doors open, but they were locked," said Devowe. "I waded into the creek waste-deep and tried to do what I could."

31-year old Kristin-Leigh Beaudry, the driver of the vehicle, drown in the accident, but the two children were both still alive and could be saved.

"I tried to help the little boy first," said Devowe. "He was tangled in his seat belt and his mouth was filling up with water."

Devowe says he took both hands and held the boy's face above the water. While he was doing this, the vehicle continued to slowly sink. As Devowe was saving the little boy, he also was trying to grab the little girl's foot with his other hand, attempting to save her.

"I watched [Kristin Beaudry] die in front of me, and that was hard," Devowe said.

Devowe said he had to stand in the creek holding the two children up for about ten minutes before additional help arrived.

As time was running out, a semi-truck driver named Matt Parker stopped and raced down to the sinking vehicle to help Devowe.

"Parker dove into the water immediately trying to find a way to free the little boy, while I continued to hold his head," said Devowe. "Parker gave a knife to the boy and the boy managed to cut himself free of the seat belt."

Devowe and Parker then shifted their attention to saving the little girl's life. Somehow, the two men got the doors unlocked and were able to free the girl.

Devowe says police and medical personnel had to travel from close to 50 miles away to arrive at the accident scene, which was in a very desolate area of northern Ontario.

Devowe says had he not turned around and gone back to investigate, and had Matt Parker not stopped to help, all three would have likely died.

Devowe said he spent the next three months with a case of the "what ifs."

"What if we had decided to try and save the mom first and not the kids; what if I had gotten there 5 minutes later; what if I hadn't shown up at all," said Devowe. "The timing was right; everything was timed perfectly, other than the mom, that was out of time."

On June 1 of this year, Devowe was invited to North Bay, Ontario and was honored for his courageous actions by the Ontario Provencial Police. He received the Commissioner's Citation and a set of pins.

"Close to 300 police officers were in attendance at the ceremony," said Devowe, recalling the ceremony.

Charles Devowe joins three others from the state of Michigan who were also recognized as heros by the Ontario Provencial Police.

On August 11, 1990, Michael McGill, a Sterling Heights native, and his two sisters, Suzanne McGill-Anderson and Dr. Margaret J. Hepke, D.O., also came to the aide of a car crashed upside down near Amberley, Ontario, which is located directly east of the tip of Michigan's thumb.

McGill tells WZZM that he and his sisters were among a dozen people who managed to successfully resuscitate a trapped passenger in a submerging vehicle, which had driven off the end of a dead-end road, struck a pole, and came to rest upside down in the water on a Lake Huron beach.

Michael McGill, along with his two sisters, were also awarded the Commissioner's Citation from the Ontario Provencial Police (OPP) for their lifesaving efforts.