In Memory of Zakk Hanson

Take Luck Benefit was put together after we suffered the loss of our 14 year old son, Zakk Hanson.  Zakk drowned in the Snake River on June 16th, 2005.  Zakk and two of his friends had made the choice to go to the river on that sunny Thursday afternoon to cool off in the river.  What that had not anticipated was the strength of the Snake that day. 

Only one day earlier, Wednesday, the boys could walk across the river.  The water was so low there was no real threat.  That fateful Thursday morning the Palisades dam was flushing debris, and by the time the boys had gotten to the river it was running at its full speed.  The Snake river was high and raging. The water temperatures only in the low 40s but the June day was nice and in the mid 80's outside.

The boys had been dam sliding. The 3rd time down, into the cool water they say that hypothermia set in on Zakk, restricting his ability to keep close to the rocks.  The strong current had taken Zakk.  

When I received the call from my husband that day, he said they thought Zakk was lost in the river.  I really couldn't believe it because Zakk had always known that the river was off limits.  It's hard to tell a child that something as strong as a river is so dangerous; it is to be respected and feared.  Zakk wasn't afraid of anything, that boy lived by the seat of his pants and he had an amazing love for God, life, his family and friends.  He gave so much of his heart to so many people and he truly blessed so many in his lifetime. 

When I reached the River I was amazed by the large number of qualified people volunteering their time to look for my son in such dangerous waters.  I saw three different counties of search and rescue operations, and I think a few more.

I can't recall much of that day other than my bewilderment of the dedicated men and women looking for my son. 

With the waters still raging at full speed, I saw several people in the water diving, the jet skis of men and women searching everywhere.  All I could think about was the fear of something happening to one of the divers because the water was almost evil that day. I knew in my heart, the peace that I had where Zakk was concerned was that he was with God.  I knew he was.  I didn't want to see someone else lose their life looking for him and seeing all those people, refusing to give up.

Later that night they began pulling the divers out of the water because it was getting dark.  There were several that just would not get out. 

I had been a witness to such unprecedented service and dedication that it just made my heart go out to these brave men and woman. For the next 7 days, these men and women along with their search dogs never gave up.  They continued until Zakk was found, a week later, on Thursday, June 23rd, 2005.  The swift moving water carried him to where he was found, 5 miles down the river from where he went in.  Their dedication went beyond professional to personal when they showed their support to our family, by being present at Zakks Services a few days later.

I can never thank these men and women and dogs enough for the dedication they put in, risking their own lives to save another.  I never knew what they did, until this happened to us.  I feel that this elite group of individuals is not nearly recognized for what they do enough.

That's why I am here now.  I am here to give back and to make aware to our community and others what an ELITE group they truly are.

I also learned that during this tragic time that the Search and Rescue teams are funding through donations.  Our tax dollars, our government, our city or state do not fund them.

Please take a moment and think about how you would feel in this situation, if you needed the help and it wasn't there because they didn't have the proper equipment.  You never know when you will need these people.  I pray that we don't have to use their services, but there are so many people like Zakk, who have no fear and live by the seat of their pants and don't think about what could happen. 

TakeLuckBenefit is a non profit organization and from now on, a fund raiser will be held every summer in memory of my son Zakk. 

Please help out our local communities by donating a little, because a little can go a long way.