11-28-19 family of drowning victim donates rescue kits to fdl county sheriff’s office

The Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office has received life-saving ice and water rescue kits thanks to a generous donation from the family of a Fond du Lac man who drowned after his ATV broke through thin ice on Lake Winnebago.   At a ceremony Wednesday afternoon Jennifer Zacherl presented a $5,000 check through the Fond du Lac Area Foundation to the Sheriff’s Office in memory of her husband Peter Zacherl.   The 55 year old Fond du Lac funeral home director was in a group of three people on the lake last January when his ATV went into the water.   His son held onto his father as long as he could until rescue personnel arrived.  Zacherl was pulled from the water but life-saving measures were unsuccessful.  Jennifer Zacherl says she decided to make the donation after meeting with the Sheriff’s Office earlier this summer to talk about the accident.   She says the Sheriff’s Office indicated they would like to equip every squad car with ice and water rescue kits.   “…so that when their officers run into this situation they feel more comfortable.  They’ve got something if they go down will hold them up,”  Zacherl told WFDL news.  “The night of the accident there was no snow so it was really slippery, they were sliding and uncomfortable with the ice conditions.  I’m glad that we were able come together and figure this out and get one in every squad.”   A thankful Sheriff Ryan Waldschmidt says the rescue kits will be placed in every Sheriff’s squad car.  “These kits are going to make our jobs safer for our deputies who at a moment’s notice respond to incidents like this,”  Waldschmidt said.  “Hopefully in the future we’ll have these kits to possibly save a life, but keep the lives of our first responders,  who risk a lot everyday,  keep them safer doing their job.”  The kit includes a life jacket, throw rope, traction cleats and ice-picks.   Waldschmidt said he is thankful to the Zacherl family “from the bottom of my heart.”