DEPUTY KESSLER HONORED WITH LIFESAVING AWARD

By DEBRA HAIGHT
BCR Correspondent
ST. JOSEPH – Berrien County Commissioners honored county employees and others at 2 recent county board meetings.
Commissioners first honored Berrien County Sheriff’s Deputy Bailey Kessler with a Lifesaving Award at their Aug. 14 meeting. Sheriff Chuck Heit and Undersheriff Greg Sanders made the presentation, honoring Kessler for her quick response and thinking outside of the box on June 10 in saving a female inmate.
On June 10, 2025, Deputy Kessler responded to an emergency call for assistance in the female receiving area inside the jail. A female inmate had recently received a breathing treatment and her tracheostomy became plugged with mucus. That resulted in the inmate going into respiratory distress due to the fact she couldn’t breathe.
“Deputy Bailee responded and once on scene took charge even over some medical staff present,” Sanders reported. “She tried several different things including attempting various tubes and cannulas to suction the mucus, preparing an oxygen tank, and setting up the ambu bag over the tracheostomy to get immediate oxygen to the inmate.”
Sanders noted that Deputy Kessler’s actions were successful. “Without her problem-solving actions things may have led to a different outcome.” He said. “The inmate was then transported to the hospital where she was monitored for a short time before returning to the jail.”
Last week, it was Berrien County 911 Dispatch Director Caitlin Sampsell presenting lifesaving awards to several first responders and Good Samaritans involved in saving the life of a young man involved in an electrocution incident at Pipestone Lake in the Sister Lakes area.
Sampsell noted that 911 dispatch received a call in the afternoon of July 10 about the incident at the Pipestone Lake Boat Launch. The victim, Lincoln White-Day had been preparing the mast on a sailboat when it connected with a power line.
She reported that Dispatch Supervisor Cassidie Pointer took the call and advised 2 bystanders to continue CPR on White-Day while an ambulance was sent. Sampsell noted that she was proud of the entire team of first responders who took part. “Sometimes in our profession we don’t know the outcome of calls,” she said.
The two 911 callers, Tyler Baham and Nate Tatro, said they were glad they could help. They said they feel like they’ve gained family and friendships through the incident.
Berrien County Board of Commissioners Chair Mac Elliott said the meeting all the parties involved in saving White-Day are owed a debt of gratitude and he has a feeling that will lead to a lifelong bond. “I have a feeling that it’s going to create a lifelong bond for these three whether they’re near or far,” he said.
For his part, White-Day said that it’s thanks to that CPR from two Good Samaritans that he’s alive today. He called his recovery “miraculous” as doctors told him there was more than a 95 percent chance he wouldn’t have survived as his brain had been deprived of oxygen for more than 20 seconds.
White-Day said the experience has given him a new perspective on life. “I appreciate the opportunity to speak and of course I’m glad to be alive,” he said. “It’s nice to be here today to thank my saviors.”
“When I tell the story, I refer to Tyler and Nate as my angels because they are,” he added. “I agree with Mr. Elliott that I definitely see a friendship between us. I’m honored to be here, I see this as a new lease on life. I’m 20 and will be 21 at the end of the month and I will hopefully have more time to give back to the community that raised me so well.”
Honored at the meeting were Pointer, Great Lakes Rescue Medical first responder Matthew Quinn, Medic 1 paramedic Kahler Johansen, EMT Melinda Reeves, Baham, and Tatro.