E232: Three Friends Drown Trying to Save Each Other: This Is Their Story | Lila Rose Show
The Lila Rose Show
Lila Rose
4.8 • 2K Ratings
🗓️ 18 July 2025
⏱️ 107 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
When we hear the words of John 15:13, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” most of us assume it’s a metaphor, not a literal call. But on June 18, that verse became a lived reality.
Three friends, Val Creus, Matt Schoenecker, and Matt Anthony lost their lives in an act of heroic brotherhood. When Val jumped into the swimming hole at Rattlesnake Falls and called for help, both Matts jumped in after him without hesitation. Today, we’re joined by their close friend and fellow Opus Dei member, Matt Bowman, who shares how these men were remarkable not just in their final sacrifice, but in the way they lived: humbly, joyfully, and always in service to others, drawing people closer to Christ. We also remember another quiet hero, diver Juan Heredia, who risked his own life to recover their bodies and bring some measure of peace to grieving families. Their story reminds us to live with purpose, to love without delay, and to lead others to the source of all love: Christ Himself.
Zephyr Institue: https://www.zephyr.org/
Juan's Angel Diver site: https://angelsrecoverydiveteam.org/
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00:00:00 - Intro
00:04:01 - Understanding Opus Dei
00:09:04 - Seven Weeks Coffee
00:10:01 - Is DaVinci Code Accurate?
00:12:53 - Response to Vatican II
00:16:27 - What happened in the accident?
00:29:16 - Hallow
00:30:06 - The Rescue Mission
00:36:58 - Covenant Eyes
00:38:02 - Who is Val?
01:00:43 - Matt Schoenecker
01:16:21 - Matt Anthony
01:32:52 - Life after Matts and Val
01:36:00 - Healthy Male Friendship
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | I had the absolute pleasure of speaking to Pamela Anderson. |
| 0:04.2 | All thanks to the Dove Self-Eesteem Project. |
| 0:07.1 | We speak about the impact Y2K has had on women's body confidence and how Pamela has regained control. |
| 0:12.9 | The Dove Self-Esteen project is an amazing initiative supported by science-backed methodology |
| 0:17.8 | to help us improve our relationship with our bodies. |
| 0:20.8 | To find more |
| 0:21.4 | body confidence-building exercises, go to dove.com forward slash Y2K. That's Y2K spelled W-H-Y-2K. |
| 0:30.1 | June 18th, these three men were on a hike. Out of the water, they hear him cry for help. |
| 0:34.7 | Nine professional divers determined that this is unsafe has sent somebody into. The last thing we need right now is a fourth dead person. That's how he finds them. And he says, very peaceful down there. Like, they're sleeping. What were you feeling and thinking when you got that text? The reason that it was natural for them in that moment is because they did it all the time. But now we look at that act and we say it's heroic. These guys gave their lives |
| 0:54.3 | for their friend. A few weeks ago here in California, three men of God, Matt Anthony, Matt |
| 1:02.8 | Schenacher, and Valcruis were on a beautiful hike and ended up losing their lives in a tragic |
| 1:07.7 | accident. Since their passing, there have been thousands of people who have |
| 1:11.7 | been moved not just by their deaths, but most importantly by their life and the way that they |
| 1:16.9 | gave their lives as celibate members of Opus Day to their communities generously and |
| 1:22.7 | sacrificial. In today's episode, we sit down with Matt Bowman, who's the head of the Zephyr Institute, |
| 1:27.6 | who was close friends with all three men for over 25 years. |
| 1:31.4 | And Matt shares about the events of their death, as well as the heroic work of a diver named |
| 1:36.1 | Juan who recovered their bodies and also gives us some reflection on their lives and the |
| 1:41.8 | lessons we can learn from these incredible men. |
| 1:43.8 | I hope you enjoy this |
| 1:44.5 | special episode of the Lila Rose show, in tribute to Matt Scheneker, Matt Anthony, and Valcruis. |
| 1:51.0 | Also, friends, don't forget to subscribe to the show. There are over 300,000 of you already |
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