LOCAL

'His dog saved his life'

Labrador retriever keeps trapped Topekan warm for 16 hours after truck overturns

Tim Hrenchir
threnchir@cjonline.com
Bruce Jensen, shown in this photo with a tropical bird, last week lay trapped in his pickup truck for roughly 16 hours overnight in the shallow but icy waters of a creek in southwest Shawnee County. [Submitted]

The warmth of his dog curled up in his lap may have saved local business owner Bruce Jensen's life as he lay trapped in his pickup truck for about 16 hours overnight last week in the shallow but icy waters of a creek in southwest Shawnee County, said his daughter-in-law, Brandy Jensen.

She said Sunday that paramedics provided that assessment after removing Bruce Jensen early Wednesday afternoon from that truck, which was lying on its side in roughly 2 to 4 inches of water beneath a bridge in the 9500 block of S.W. Auburn Road.

Bruce Jensen's red fox Labrador retriever, Riley, chose to stay with him despite having the option of leaving through the truck's rear window, Brandy Jensen said.

"His dog saved his life," she said.

Brandy Jensen said her father-in-law, who is diabetic, suffered a cracked sternum and was admitted Wednesday to a Topeka hospital, where he was moved out of intensive care on Saturday and remained a patient on Monday.

While she felt a sense of relief that Bruce Jensen will apparently be OK, Brandy Jensen expressed concern that her father-in-law wasn't found nearly as quickly as he should have been on a night when frigid weather conditions potentially endangered his life.

She said that though she and her friend, Jessie Rouviere, found her father-in-law Wednesday afternoon after only about 45 minutes of searching on foot in the area involved, Shawnee County Sheriff's officials by that point had known since at least 11 p.m. Tuesday that Bruce Jensen's cell phone was present in that area.

"It seems to me that if someone had gotten out of their vehicle and searched on foot with a flashlight, they would have found him that evening," Brandy Jensen said.

Sheriff Brian Hill said Sunday that his office was in the process of examining dispatch and patrol records to review his agency's response and investigate the steps it took to locate Bruce Jensen.

"We have been in contact with the family and appreciate their frustration and concerns," Hill said. "We soon hope to understand exactly what transpired in this matter and have tasked supervisors with reviewing all available information. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the individual involved and his family.“

Brandy Jensen said she first knew something was wrong about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday because Bruce Jensen — the owner of Reuter's (pronounced "rooters") Pedorthics, 2104 S.W. Fairlawn Plaza Drive — had not returned to the house near S.W. 45th and Auburn Road where he lives with Brandy Jensen and her husband, Bruce Jensen's son, Nick Jensen.

Bruce Jensen normally leaves Reuter's Pedorthics with Riley about 6 p.m., when that business closes, Brandy Jensen said.

She said she and Nick Jensen also work for Reuters, as does Bruce Jensen's former wife, Rhonda Jensen.

Riley serves as Reuter's "shop dog," according to a video the business posted in 2014 on its Facebook site. That site that year also posted a photo of Riley accompanied by the caption, "You'll often find me laying by the front door to be your Greeter."

Brandy Jensen, whose husband was out of town, drove the routes Tuesday evening her father-in-law might have taken to come home but found nothing.

Upon the advice of her father, retired Topeka Fire Marshal Mike Martin, Brandy Jensen said she contacted the sheriff's office to report Bruce Jensen missing about 10 p.m. Tuesday. Deputies began investigating.

Topeka temperatures dropped as low as 34 degrees Wednesday morning, according to the National Weather Service.

About 1 a.m. Wednesday, Brandy Jensen said, she noticed that the "Nearby Friends" application on her Facebook account indicated Bruce Jensen's cell phone was seven miles away, in the Auburn area. She said she contacted the sheriff's office to share that information.

"They said they were pinging his phone, but that's all the information they gave," she said.

On Wednesday morning, after her son went to school, Brandy Jensen said she drove around slowly in the Auburn area but wasn't able to find Bruce Jensen.

She said that early Wednesday afternoon, her friend, Rouviere, called the sheriff's office.

Rouviere learned that office at about 11 p.m. Tuesday and 1 a.m. Wednesday had "pinged" Bruce Jensen's phone, which appeared to be somewhere in the 9500 block of S.W. Auburn Road, Brandy Jensen said.

"We decided to go on out there and just walk," she said.

In that area, Brandy Jensen said, she looked over the side of a bridge and saw her father-in-law's pickup below lying on its side, partially in the water. She called the sheriff's office as Rouviere went down to the truck.

"It was quite a slope going down," Brandy Jensen said.

Once Rouviere got to the pickup, Brandy Jensen said: "She kept yelling, 'Bruce! It's Jessie! Brandy and I found you!'"

Hill said in a news release last week that Bruce Jensen was located about 1:15 p.m. Wednesday in his 2014 Nissan pickup truck under a bridge in the 9500 block of S.W. Auburn. Firefighters from the Auburn and Mission Township departments were also at the scene, he said.

"Mr. Jensen and his (Labrador dog) were both safely rescued from the truck," Hill said. "Mr. Jensen was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries."

Brandy Jensen said Riley had a few scrapes on his face but otherwise appears fine except for one thing — he misses his owner.

"Every time someone comes to the door," she said, "he's waiting by the top of the stairs for Bruce to come home."