BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
WARFIELD-KERMIT — A Lovely man with a history of fleeing police by plunging into the Tug River did so again Sunday, authorities said, prompting another multi-agency rescue.
Brett Henry Waller, 61, ran from a deputy around 3:30 p.m., crossed the Kermit Bridge and jumped into the icy water to avoid arrest.
A deputy from the Martin County Sheriff’s Office said he was patrolling in the Warfield-Lovely area when he spotted Waller walking along Riverfront Road.
Waller was wanted on an outstanding arrest warrant.
When the officer approached him, Waller allegedly said he was not going to jail, then fled.
Emergency crews from multiple agencies responded after the deputy called for assistance.
Firefighters entered the water and pulled Waller to safety from the middle of the river.
“Where the water was so cold, they just went in and got him,” Warfield firefighter Billy Davis said. “If he’d stayed in there a little longer, he probably would have drowned. He couldn’t feel his legs when he got to the bank. People don’t realize how cold that water is and how fast it can take you out.”
Patriot Ambulance transported Waller to ARH Paul B. Hall in Paintsville for evaluation. Once medical staff cleared Waller, officials booked him into the Big Sandy Regional Detention Center on charges of second-degree strangulation, domestic violence–related, and second-degree fleeing or evading police on foot.
Agencies assisting the sheriff’s office at the scene include the Warfield, Kermit and Inez fire departments, Martin County REACT, Constable Bradford Preece, the West Virginia State Police and Patriot Ambulance.
Sunday’s incident marked the third time within two years that Waller has jumped in the river to escape police. He escaped sheriff’s deputies in October 2023 by running to the Tug River and swimming across into West Virginia.
On March 2, 2024, he fled into the river near Hub Cline Bridge in Lovely, triggering a major rescue operation.
Corey Marcum, a rescuer from Lenore, recounted the critical moments of the rescue, saying Waller was “way too weak to hold on any longer” when the rescuers got to him.
“As soon as I hit the water, he gave up,” Marcum said. “Another two minutes would have been a different story.”