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A year after he anonymously slipped away in the wake of helping rescue three people, the spotlight shines on Javier Rodriguez.
By MATTIAS KAREN
© St. Petersburg Times, published July 24, 2000
It is sometimes a thin line between fame and anonymity.
For Javier Rodriguez, it was a matter of modesty and an open car window.
Little more than a year ago, Rodriguez and another man rescued three people from drowning off the Dunedin Causeway during a severe thunderstorm.
The two men took the same life-threatening risk, defying strong winds, intense lightning and pounding hail and rain. But their rewards have been very different.
One rescuer, Palm Harbor firefighter and paramedic Scott Tischhauser, was heralded as a hero the next day, and starred in a recreation of the daring rescue that aired on the Discovery Channel this spring. Recently, Tischhauser was honored as Paramedic of the Year by the Florida Department of Health, in large part because of his role in the July 9 1999, rescue.
But the reward for Rodriguez, a detention officer with the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, consisted merely of inner satisfaction. No medals, no thank you's, No interviews.
The hero was kept out of the public's eye, not because the media ignored him, but because no one ever had a chance to learn who he was.
After the rescue, in which he saved the lives of two people by bringing them back to shore on his personal watercraft, Rodriguez decided to take off when emergency crews showed up. The passenger side window on Rodriguez' car was rolled down and stuck. Given the pouring rain, he decided to leave.
"The car was getting soaked inside," Rodriguez said. "I had to get it out of there. And my friend was getting a little worried about the lightning, so . . ."
So Rodriguez' heroics went unheralded. By the time reporters got to the scene, he was gone. Nobody remaining knew who the middle-aged, dark-haired man had been.
The next day, he read about the incident in the papers. A friend called and said he had seen a report of the rescue on the TV news. In February, he read another article about the re-enactment of the rescue that was about to air. But he never contemplated calling journalists to tell them about his part in the incident. He didn't need the attention, he said -- that's not his style.
"I was able to help and that was it," he said. "People needed help, and I was right there, the Wave Runner was there. I'd like to think that anybody in that position would help out."
Then last week, a co-worker saw a St. Petersburg Times article about Tischhauser's award, and e-mailed the Times to reveal Rodriguez' identity. In the article, Tischhauser said he wondered who the second rescuer had been, and that, whoever he was, he deserved as much recognition as himself.
Jim Rice, the man who revealed Rodriguez' identity, also said that what his co-worker and friend did that day deserved to be appreciated.
"He's definitely the kind of guy who thinks of others before he thinks of himself," Rice said.
Rice said that after Rodriguez told him about the rescue, he encouraged Rodriguez to tell the media as well. But Rodriguez refused.
"He's just a humble guy," Rice said. "He said "I don't need to do that.' I was on him for quite a while to call you guys."
Rodriguez, 53, has worked at the county jail for seven years. Born in Puerto Rico, he grew up in New York. After retiring from his job there as a corrections officer, he moved to Dunedin in 1991.
Rice, who has worked with Rodriguez for six years, said he wasn't surprised his friend didn't care about getting media attention.
"That's classic him," Rice said. "He's perfectly content to walk in your shadow, to do his own thing. And that's what makes him so special."
Tischhauser was excited to hear who the second rescuer had been, and planned to give Rodriguez a call, he said.
"He deserves as much credit as I do," Tischhauser said. "He was there, it was his deal, too."
Both men were off duty the day of the rescue, enjoying a quiet day on the beach -- Tischhauser with his family, Rodriguez with some other sheriff's deputies. The water was perfectly calm -- "like a sheet of ice," Rodriguez said -- when the storm suddenly broke out.
The two men both spotted the three in the water -- a middle-aged father and his two children, who looked to be in their teens -- about 300 feet off shore. Beside them was their canoe, sinking.
Rodriguez and Tischhauser each jumped on their personal watercraft and headed out on the water, guided in the poor visibility by the cries for help. Rodriguez reached the young boy first, but the boy refused to climb onto the water scooter.
"He said "No, wait. Go get my sister,' " Rodriguez said. "That's all he was worried about. I think that was very heroic on his part."
Rodriguez fetched the girl out of the water and took her to shore. Then, as Tischhauser brought the boy to safety, Rodriguez went back for the older man.
So how did he feel when it was all over? Like a hero?
No.
"I was wet," he said.
- Mattias Karen can be reached at (727) 445-4243 or at northpin@sptimes.com.