up next on the second look. you might not know his face but you know doubt have seen his work. >> a little more this way. now do it. there you go.

>> ktvu's chief photographer john mckenzie is retiring. and a career across 30 years. and it's straight ahead on a second look. >> hello, everyone. welcome to a second look. tonight, we're going to celebrate the career of our colleague who is retiring at the end of this month. john has been a photo journalist here since 1978 and he's been our chief photographer for the past 26 years. during that time, his work has taken him around the bay area, around the united states and around the world. even though he's not as recognizable as his brother, long time ktvu reporter, bob. his work has been just as important in building ktvu's reputation as one of the top news organizers around the country. he's covered every kind of story from city council meetings to presidential visits. from small rainstorms to major flooding. from house fires to

wildfires. and in 1985, he john almost became the story when the fire he was covering nearly covered him and reporter john faller. -- john fowler. >> a warning of impending parrell. >> we're out of here. hey, bob. i got to go. >> they have to turn their truck outside this dirt trail for the fire is jumping the lines up ahead. >> let's go! there's the fire right there. >> yeah, i know. >> cameraman, john, park ranger guide and i are in the last car.

it's impossible to describe the heat, the smell, the sound of a wildfire. >> [ fire ] >> our only out is through the fire. somewhat subsided now. the only casualty, a forest truck abandoned. he cooley described what happened. >> the backfire built up momentum and spotted over the line before the main fire even got there. that's one of the

risks that you take when you build a backfire, set a backfire. and on the other hand, backfiring under those kind of conditions is the only way to contain the fire. >> sometimes the biggest challenge in tv news is tell a story when you weren't there to get the pictures. watch this next report that john shot with his brother bob back in 1989. and pay close attention to his skill at making you feel as if you were there for the dramatic rescue of a toddler from an on coming train. >> it would be hard to find a family that feels closer than this one. gary, a new jersey building contractor, his wife indicate and their sons. anthony is not related in anyway but they consider him part of the family. that's because it was anthony who risked his life to save his children. on may

2nd, anthony was starting usual freight run. there was a passenger train ahead of them. they had to proceed slower than usual. that morning, the children had did something they never done before. while the mother was busy in the house unloading groceries, the two little boys walked through the road and headed by the railroad tracks. 100 ton freight train is slow to get going and slower to get stopped. that's why the men have to be alert and keep a sharp eye on the tracks. on that morning richard was alert. he saw what looked like a red object and yellow. >> i said what's that? as soon as i said that i saw the yellow object move. >> we realized it was two small children. and richard threw the automatic break into emergency position to stop the train.

>> you can tell right away we weren't going to stop in time. it's not going to stop. i was hoping it would be. come on stop, stop. i'm saying to the kid get out of there. >> i realized the train wasn't going to stop and i came out the front door down on the step and i tried to yell and motion from the kids to get away from the track. they were so young they didn't understand. and when the train got about 8 feet, i came off the ladder and took two slides and knocked both children down under me and the train passed over. >> whether by instinct or quick judgment, anthony did the only thing that would save the

children's lives and his own in that moment. he rolled over the track, and made still. there was barely a foot of clearance between the train and the ground. the train was so close it grazed little scott opening several cuts. >> i wanted to get on my hands and knees and thank this man like i've never thanked anybody before. >> still to come, john takes his camera out to see what the coast guard and one of the most dangerous schools you'll ever find. one that teaches high seas rescues. and also goes under ground exploring the california caverns in calaveras county. >> follow second look on facebook and twitter.

welcome back. tonight we're taking a second look at the career of our colleague of our photo journalist. he did a lot of stories at schools over more than 30 years of shooting news. most of them were routine. back

in 1989 he and reporter john fowler found a school where all you could do is strap in and hold on as the coast guard taught its crews how to rescue people in rough seas. >> hang on. hang on. >> the mouth of the columbia river. the rough jewel along the pacific northwest coast. >> it is here in the consistently worst sea conditions anywhere in the u.s., the coast guard trained america's best boat handlers. it's a course in conquering fear. >> if you don't get fear you have insanity in your blood. you are crazy or a fool if you don't get scared. >> the waves up there are breaking.

don't the instructors here will teach you three things. how to read the surf, maneuver a boat. but most importantly how to come to grips with your fear and drive right through. that fear you have to begin with. >> stays with you for a long time. you are going to be afraid and hez state that one second -- hesitate that one second too long and then it's over. >> hold on. >> breaking wave hits with the impact of an locomotive. it was all i could do is hang on. it was violent sometimes terrifying ride. with shouts, revving diesels and body wrenching concussions. only a few seconds between waves to avoid the ocean's powerful slaps. >> just don't way for it to die

out. make it happen. >> so that story took john out to see. this next one took him under the sea. back in 1993 traveled with reporter to honduras to report on people who put their lives at risk to put lobster on american tables. strapped on the diving gear and put camera in a water proof housing. >> fewer americans have ever seen these divers. probably the best in the world. far from their homes and far out in the car bean caribbean. there is a storey of pain and suffering and death almost no americans know.

it's called. this fast land of swamps, vipers and alligators, rainforests and rivers is home inform the indians. here in the interior is a missionary clinic to the dangers they face to bring americans lobster. just a few days ago he was a suburb diver. when he came here, he was paralyzed from the neck down. the reason? nitrogen bubbles in his blood. to maximize the catch, bosses pressured the indians to dive too deep, too long and far too often. they use as many as 12 to 20 tanks of air a day to depths of 100 feet. more dives than most divers could survive. >> i think all of the divers suffer. they may be just pain

of shoulder or joints or ill feeling. i'm sure all of them have had it. >> helping treat a rising number of mosquitos which can help reverse some of the affects of the bends >> we have seen a number of deaths of divers who have had severe cases go home they are paralyzed from the chest or waist down. >> from going under water to going under ground. in 1982, john crawled with his camera deep into the california caverns in cave city. >> i've always been mildly claustrophobic. so it is with some trepidation that i would begin the decent. >> oh, boy. >> one of the first things we must learn is the concept of tote 58 darkness and -- total darkness. and the importance of

your head lamp. we've been told not to touch anything because the environment is so fragile. now we're told things live down here and should be avoided. that should be no problem. >> it's kind of small but could fit through easily. what we can test you on when you go down here is your upper body strength. how well you listen to instructions. that's real important to us. i'm going to tell you how to get down. >> i thought this whole explanation was a bad joke. now i realize we're all supposed to crawl into this hole. >> lower your legs down. facing this direction. that's where it's the widest. arms above your head. >> believe me, i'm not caught up in any wave of enthusiasm. i really don't want to do this. >> turn your light on. >> back this way. over away

from this. >> the largest has been on one of my tours is 240 pounds. >> turn the light on. >> there you go. >> ready? >> arms straight up. >> straight up. now do it. there you go. >> there was a certain appealing logic. if you crawl into a hole, you should be able to crawl out. >> doesn't feel so bad. >> there are lots of beautiful things to be hold in this kaifb. they have little time for

gauking. all this crawling around still to be done. . >> going to be going through the passage called a to potato peeler. you can't get lost so don't worry about memorizing this. this point is the small point. it's about 6 feet long and it is a belly crawl. when you are going through as you are laying on your stomach, you have to have your head turned to the side. >> my experience did not wet my appetite for more and i due to this will make me feel any better. >> start out the week ready. >> oh, geez. >> it gets tighter than this?

>> oh, yeah. >> the end of the five hours, receives the ultimate reward. pressure air and sunshine. this is george watson for segment 2 at cave city. >> when we come back, wait until you hear which celebrity this kid thinks john looks like. >> follow second look on facebook and twitter. why shop t.j.maxx and marshalls?

one. you get all the awesome brand names. two. you get them for less than department stores, and that's awesome. three. she'll think you look stylish and awesome. four. you'll actually be awesome, which is awesome. t.j.maxx and marshalls. two awesome ways to score.

in 1998 john traveled to mexico to bring us the story of a series of killings along mexico's boarder with the united states. was a serial killer stalking women just south of el paso. >> this desert has become known as the dumping ground for women's bodies. about 20 murdered women have been found here.

and it is here that mothers come to search for their missing daughters. >> very few of the bodies are found by police. most are discovered by locals. he brings his goats out here everyday to graze. he says he found four bodies this year. the day after this interview, a volunteer search group looking for missing women, found a skull in the desert. no one is sure of the identity or if any of the victims are americans. twice police said they sought the killers and declared the problems solved. mexican police say the killers are in this prison. it's a minimum security facility where mothers, wives and children come loaded with bags of food for their visits within mates. -- with inmates. . >> doesn't really matter what you say at this point.

i'm innocent. >> he came to juarez from the united states has been held in this prison for three years without a conviction. he says he has not killed any women in juarez. they say he is a serial killer who had help from these men. 8 members from a gang. the gang members picked up women at discos and bars and killed more women themselves after his arrest. the leader is this man nicknamed el diablo, the devil. he and his gang members are innocent. they have all been awaiting trial for two years. >> with so many conflicting stories, it's unclear what is being done in this investigation. what is clear is

that every month more bodies keep turning up here in the outskirts of juarez. >> when we come back, brave in the dangers of the war to bring a compelling human story. >> follow second look on facebook and twitter.

on a second look tonight the career of our soon to be retired chief photographer, john makenzie. ba in 1996 he was in the boznian city when a young boy thought he recognized him walking down the street. >> who does he look like? >> chuck norris. >> what can i say? they still say i look like chuck norris. >> he brought us the story of yesmina. a woman returning to her home for the first time since the war.

what he didn't think about was the danger buried beneath the ground. listen closely to what she says as she sees john across the yard. >> aren't they afraid it's mined? let's use this road over here. >> i don't know. i hope it's not. this is a lot. i hope god will take care of it. >> i think god wants us to be here. >> yasmina and her husband live with their three children on the upper two floors. the first floor was their business. a grocery store. >> this is what's left of my --.

>> oh, honey. come on. >> this is this here used to have so many green plants. when you come inside, used to have wallpaper. >> for 6 months her and her family were under siege her under sniper fire. >> where were they from? >> over there from that factory. you see that house on the top of the hill? >> yes. >> that's from where this big gun i think 155 millimeters used to shoot here. and it was in this forest. you see that hill? and not even one moment we could go out. the sniper was shooting. and 32 people sniper killed here. >> that's a trench and you had

to crawl along the trench during the fighting? >> yes. and we didn't have water here. the water was over there where you see that burned truck. that was our truck as well. and every night we used to go over there where the truck is. we have a well and during the night we went over there to fetch water. >> then came her last day in this house. >> it was terrible. a shell fell in that room where i was and then the mortar fallen off the wall. he came up stairs even though they were still shooting. he was screaming you stupid woman. are you alive? and i said yes i am alive. and he said i can't find you. i said i'm down here under this mortar.

>> i don't have a house any more. >> you are not alone. >> come forward. the future. >> and that's it for this week's second look. we'll see you again next week.