BOONVILLE — A local state forest ranger was honored with a prestigious award for his rescue efforts when two children went under the water at Pixley Falls State Park in Boonville, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

Authorities said Forest Ranger Lt. Gregory Hoag, of Rome, was off-duty at the state park at about 4:50 p.m. on June 19, 2019, when he heard a woman scream near the falls. Authorities said the woman’s two children had been swimming in the water when the current below the falls caught them by surprise and pulled them dangerously close to the falling water at the bottom of a 50-foot drop. Hoag sprinted to the water and dove in, grabbing a young boy after he had become submerged, authorities stated.

The boy’s sister had also attempted to help him, but she too became overwhelmed by the water. Another bystander, teacher Peter Gillander, from the Oneida City School District, jumped in and rescued the sister, authorities said.

Hoag brought the boy to shore and instructed Gillander to go to the park entrance to call 911, since there was no cellphone service in the area, officials stated. The boy was taken by private vehicle to a local hospital, and both children were reportedly in good condition by the end of the day.

For his efforts in the June 2019 rescue, Hoag received the Raymond Murray Award at the DEC’s annual awards ceremony on Dec. 2, 2022, in Lake Placid.

“Lieutenant Hoag performed a conspicuous act of valor, courage, integrity, resourcefulness and bravery in saving a young child’s life at considerable risk to his own,” DEC officials said at the ceremony.

The Raymond Murray Award is given out for acts of valor, courage, bravery, and integrity. Ranger Murray died in a plane crash in 1970 while flying aerial detection flights during wildland fire suppression efforts.