Jayclyn Morrissette is a Winnipeg woman police are crediting for saving a father and his child from drowning in the Red River.
The child entered the Red River near St. John’s Park on Aug. 24 and began to drown, prompting the father to jump in and try to save them, according to the Winnipeg Police Service’s (WPS) news release.
Morrissette told Global News she jumped off the park bench she was sitting on when she saw the child, adding that she intervened after noticing the father – who entered the river before her – was starting to sink.
“I knew that I was about to save two people. My first thought was to get him (the father) first, since he’s closer. So, I threw everything out of my pockets and then I jumped in,” she recalled.
She described rescuing the father as “difficult” because he was struggling and trying to hold onto her, pulling her into the water. Her neighbour, who was nearby and on the phone with 911, helped pull Morrissette and the man out of the water.
Her attention then shifted to the man’s child, who Morrissette said was further in the water than their father, and “no longer moving” while face down in the water.
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After reaching the child, the woman headed back toward the shoreline, police said.
Morrissette held the child on her chest as she helped them expel the water from their lungs. After returning to shore, she said others started trying to help the child, but did not know how to do CPR. She went back to help the family.
“I had kept performing it until I no longer could, my arms had given out. At that point of picking up the father and swimming back-and-forth, my arms could only handle so much,” she said. Her neighbour took over until the police arrived.
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“I remained calm and just did what I thought anybody should do.”
Winnipeg police said her actions that day demonstrated “remarkable courage and selflessness.”
North district WPS officers arrived at the scene shortly before 7 p.m. and took over efforts to save the unconscious child. The child was taken to hospital in critical condition but has since stabilized and is expected to make a full recovery.
Police credited the bystander who swooped into action “for saving both the lives of the child and parent during this incident.”
Morrissette said she started to feel some of the emotional effects of her life-saving park visit when she saw her daughter and spoke with her mom at home.
“I still feel like what I did wasn’t that heroic. Anybody would do that. I would hope anybody would do that,” she said.
“I would only hope that if my child was in the same situation someone would do that too.”
The release reminded parents to supervise their children around water and to exercise caution when visiting parks and waterways.
some mother or father who does not supervise their children around water should thrown in jail.
Do they not understand to keep your open every second
of every minute on the child . No turning of heads.