By C1 Staff
REDDING, Calif. — A California corrections officer who dove 172 feet to recover the body of a drowning victim will be awarded the governor’s Public Safety Medal of Valor, a year after the event.
KRCR TV reports that John Zufall was diving with volunteer diver Ken Smith to recover the body of a drowned teenager at the bottom of Shasta Lake. When communication between the two was suddenly cut off, Zufall immediately went down to find him.
He found Smith and brought him to the surface, but unfortunately Smith later passed away.
“It’s hard,” Zufall said of receiving the award. “It’s kind of a bittersweet feeling because I am honored to get this award, but at the same time I wish it would have ended better.”
Support from his family, department, and now the state of California reassures him that he did the right thing. Zufall says he’s humbled by the receipt of the award.